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University  of  California,  San  D.ego 
p,ease  Note:  This  rtem  is  subject  to  re 

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Columbia 

STUDIES  IN  ENGLISH 


NEW  POEMS  BY  JAMES  I  OF  ENGLAND 


COLUMBIA 

UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

SALES  AGENTS 

NEW  YORK: 

LEMCKE  &  BUECHNER 
30-32  WEST  2/TH  STREET 

LONDON : 

HENRY  FROWDE 
AMEN  CORNER,  E.C. 

TORONTO : 
HENRY  FROWDE 
25  RICHMOND  ST.,  W. 


NEW     POEMS 


BY 


JAMES    I    OF    ENGLAND 


FROM    A    HITHERTO    UNPUBLISHED    MANUSCRIPT    (ADD.    24195) 
IN  THE  BRITISH   MUSEUM 


EDITED 

WITH   INTRODUCTION   AND   NOTES 
BY 

ALLAN   F.  WESTCOTT,  PH.D. 

INSTRUCTOR  IN   ENGLISH  IN   COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY 


NE&J  gorfc 

THE   COLUMBIA   UNIVERSITY  PRESS 
1911 

All  rights  reserved 


COPYRIGHT,  1911, 
BY   THE  COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  PRESS. 


Printed  from  type,  December,  1911. 


J.  8.  Gushing  Co.  —Berwick  A  Smith  Co. 
Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


This  Monograph  has  been  approved  by  the  Department  of  Eng- 
lish in  Columbia  University  as  a  contribution  to  knowledge  worthy 

of  publication. 

A.   H.   THORNDIKE, 

Secretary. 


CONTENTS 

INTRODUCTION 

PAGE 

Preface vii 

The  Manuscript xi 

I.     The  King  and  his  Tutors xvii 

II.     The  Study  of  Poetry  under  Montgomerie          ....  xxv 

III.  Other  Poets  in  the  Scottish  Court,  1584-1603   .         .        .  xxxiv 

IV.  The  King's  Verse  and  Criticism       .                  ....  xlv 
V.     Arrival  in  England  :  Patronage  of  Prose  and  the  Drama  .         .  Iv 

VI.     Poets  in  the  English  Court,  1603-1625 Ixvii 

POEMS 
AMATORIA 

I-XII.     Sonnets  (foil.  4-9  b) I 

XIII.  Constant  Love  in  All  Conditions  (foil.  10-10  b)        .         .  7 

XIV.  A  Dier  at  her  M«es  desyer  (foil.  iob-i3b)      ...  7 
XV.     'My  muse  hath  made  a  willfull  lye'  (fol.  13)     .         .         .  10 

XVI.      Acomplaint  of  his  mistressis  absence  from  Court  (foil. 

14-16) 10 

XVII.     A  dreameonhisMistrismyLadieGlammes(foll.  i6'b-24b)  12 

XVIII.     A  Satire  against  Woemen  (foil.  25-27)    ....  19 

XIX.     Song  i.     (foil.  27  b-29) 22 

XX.     Song  2.     (foil.  29-30) 24 

MISCELLANEA 

XXI.     'The  azured  vault,  the  cristall  circles  bright'  (fol.  31)       .  25 
XXII.     A    sonnet   on    Mr    Pa.    Adamsons    paraphrase    of   Job 

(fol.  31  b) 25 

XXIII.  A  Sonnet  on  Ticho  Brahe  (fol.  32)      ..  .        ,        . .    '  .  26 

XXIV.  Another  on  the  same  (fol.  32  b)      .        .        .        .        .  26 
XXV.     Another  on  the  same  (fol.  33)          ,       t.       ...  .     .        4  27 

XXVI.     A  sonnet  on  Du  Bartas  (fol.  33  b)                     .        .        .  27 

iii 


IV 


XXVII.     '  What   heaven   doth    furnish   thee  such  learned  skill ' 

(fol.  34)                                                        ...  28 

XXVIII.     <  O  divin  du  Bartas,  disciple  d'Uranie '  (fol.  34  b)  .         .  28 

XXIX.     A  Sonnet   on  Mr  W.  Fullers  translation  of  Petrarchs 

triumphe  of  Love  (fol.  35) 29 

XXX.     An  Epitaphe  on  S'  Philip  Sidney  (fol.  35  b)  .         .         .29 

XXXI.     An  Epitaphe  on  John  Shaw  (fol.  36)     .         .         .         .  30 

XXXII.     Votum  (fol.  36  b) 30 

XXXIII.  A  Sonnet  to  Chanceller  Maitlane  (fol.  37)     .         .         -31 

XXXIV.  An  Epitaphe  on  Montgomrie  (fol.  37  b)        .         .         .31 
XXXV.     A  Sonnet  on  the  moneth  of  May  (fol.  38)      .         .         .  32 

XXXVI.     An  aenigme  of  sleepe  (fol.  38  b) 32 

XXXVII.     A  Sonnet  when  the  King  was  surprised  by  the  Earle 

Both  well  (fol.  39) 33 

XXXVIII.     Another  on  the  same  (fol.  39  b) 33 

XXXIX.     'All  kinde  of  wronge  allace  it  now  aboundes  (fol.  40)    .  34 

XL.     A  Sonnet  painting  out  the  perfect  Poet  (fol.  40  b)          .  34 

XLI.     A  Sonnet  to  the  reader  prefixed  to  the  treatise  of  the 

art  of  poesie  (fol.  41) 35 

XLII.     'Omightie  Gods'  (fol.  41  b) 35 

XLIII.     'First  Jove  as  greatest  God  above  the  rest'  (fol.  41  b)  .  36 

XLIV.     '  Apollo  nixt  assist  me  to  a  part '  (fol.  42)      ...  36 

XLV.     '  O  mightie  sonne  of  Semele  the  faire '  (fol.  42  b)    .         .  37 

XLVI.     A  Sonnet  on  Sr  William  Alexander's  harshe  verses  after 

the  Ingliche  fasone  (fol.  43) 37 

XLVII.     A  Sonet  against  the  could   that  was  in  January  1616 

(fol.  43  b)         .         .        V  ,    ;;•     v.        ...  38 

XLVIII.     <  Not  orientall  Indus  cristall  streames '  (fol.  44)      .         .  39 

XLIX.     'Faire  famous  Isle,  where  Agathocles  rang'  (fol.  44 b)  39 
L.     Upon  occasion  of  some  great  disorders   in   Scotland 

(fol.  45)    • 40 

LI.     An  admonition  to  the  Master  poet,  etc.  (foil.  46-49  b)    .  40 

LII.     Ex  Lucano  libro  quinto  (foil.  49  h-jo  b)        ...  44 
LIII.     Song.     The  first  verses  that  ever  the  King  made  (foil. 

S'-S'b)            . 46 


FRAGMENTA  PAGE 
LIV.     An  Epithalamion  upon  the  Marques  of  Huntlies  Manage 

(foil.  52-55  b)                    47 

LV.     The  beginning  of  his  Mties  jurnei  to  Denmarke  ;  never 

ended  (foil.  56-57)    .                         ....  52 

LVI.     A  pairt  of  du  Bartas  First  Day  (foil.  57  b~59  b)     .         -54 

LVII.     The  beginning  of  Mr  du  Bartas  Eden  (foil.  60-61)        .  57 

APPENDIX   I 
PROSE  PIECES  IN  THE  MUSEUM  MANUSCRIPT  (foil.  62-81  b)  .        -59 

APPENDIX  II 

ADDITIONAL  POEMS 

I.     Antithesis 62 

II.     His  Majesties  owne  Sonnet 63 

III.  Epitaph  on  Chancellor  Maitland         .         .         .         .         -63 

IV.  The  Dedication  of  the  Booke    .         .         .   •     .         .         .64 
V.     The  Argument 65 

VI-VII.     Two  sets  of  verses  made  by  the  Kinge  when  he  was  at 

Burley  House 66 

VIII.     A  Prayer,  written  on   a  blank  page  of  a  volume  of 

Montaigne        ........      66 

IX.     The  Lorde  Prayer    .         . 67 

NOTES 

Notes  to  the  Poems 69 

Notes  to  Appendix  I 114 

Notes  to  Appendix  II .     115 


PREFACE 

THOUGH  a  more  complete  description  and  history  of  the 
MS.  now  published  is  given  in  the  note  following  the  Pref- 
ace, a  brief  account  of  the  nature  of  its  contents  seems  at 
once  necessary.  The  MS.  itself  has  never  been  drawn  upon 
for  editions  of  King  James's  works,  and  so  far  as  the  writer 
is  aware  no  critic  or  biographer  has  used  it  in  his  studies. 
None  of  the  prose  contents  has  appeared  in  print  from  this 
or  other  sources.  Of  the  fifty-seven  poems,  twenty-six,  or 
a  little  less  than  half  —  including  most  of  the  Amatoria, 
the  long'pieces  addressed  to  Lady  Glamis,  all  the  poems 
referring  directly  or  indirectly  to  political  events  in  Scotland, 
and  the  excellent  sonnets  on  page  39 — have  never  been  pub- 
lished in  any  form ;  and  nine  l  more  are  now  first  discovered 
to  be  of  royal  authorship  and  properly  arranged  among  the 
poems  with  which  they  belong.  These,  it  will  be  seen,  are 
among  the  more  attractive  and  intimately  personal  of  the 
King's  verse,  and  such  as  by  the  nature  of  their  contents 
were  kept  out  of  print  during  his  lifetime.  Of  the  remaining 
twenty-two,  seven  are  found  in  The  Essayes  of  a  Prentise 2 
and  Exercises  at  vacant  houres;z  eight  first  appear  in  the 
volume  entitled  Lusus  Regius,  edited  by  R.  S.  Rait,  Con- 
stable &  Co.,  1901 ;  and  the  rest  are  in  scattered  sources  not 
easily  accessible.  All  of  these  —  in  other  words,  the  entire 
verse  contents  of  the  MS.  —  are  now  printed,  in  the  order 
and  the  text  to  which  the  King  gave  his  final  sanction. 

1  Cf.  p.  xiii. 

2  The  Essayes  of  a  Prentise,  in  the  Divine  Art  of  Poesie.    Imprinted  at 
Edinburgh  by  Thomas   Vautroullier.     1584. 

8  His  Maiesties  Poeticaall  Exercises  at  vacant  houres.  At  Edinburgh. 
Printed  by  Robert  Waldegraue.  [1591.]  This  and  the  Essayes  were  reprinted 
in  one  volume,  with  a  prefatory  memoir,  by  R.  P.  Gillies,  Edinburgh,  1814. 
The  Essayes  were  reprinted  by  Arber,  London,  1870,  and  again  published, 
with  the  omission  of  Uranie,  Phoenix,  and  other  pieces,  in  a  volume  entitled 
A  Royal  Rhetorician,  edited  by  R.  S.  Rait,  London,  1900. 

vii 


Vlll 

Thus,  if  one  excepts  the  poems  in  the  volumes  of  1584  and 
1591  (available  in  reprints)  and  the  Paraphrase  of  the 
Psalms  (still  in  MS.),  the  present  volume  forms  with  its 
appendices  a  complete  corpus  of  the  King's  poetry. 

The  Introduction  is  intended  not  primarily  as  a  critical 
study  of  James's  verse,  but  as  an  account  of  his  intercourse 
with  poets  and  influence  on  the  development  of  poetry. 
It  is  the  product  of  research  begun  some  time  before  the 
discovery  of  the  MS.  poems,  and  now  condensed  to  make 
room  for  their  publication.  The  writer  has  not  felt  called 
upon  to  attempt  a  complete  or  properly  proportioned 
biography,  though  such  a  biography  is  still  unwritten,1  but 
has  sought  chiefly  to  present,  in  the  light  of  newly  dis- 
covered material,  such  facts  of  literary  significance  as  have 
remained  unknown  or  insufficiently  recognized.  The  study 
is  further  confined  to  the  King's  relations  with  poetry, 
with  only  incidental  attention  to  his  prose  writings,  his 
political  and  theological  controversies,  or  the  vexed  ques- 
tion of  court  influence  on  the  drama.  Matters  of  political 
and  biographical  interest  (so  far  as  they  have  no  literary 
bearing)  are  for  the  most  part  treated  in  the  notes  at  the  end 
of  the  book,  where  an  account  is  given  of  the  King's  journey 
to  Denmark,  his  relations  with  Lady  Glamis,  the  raids  of 
Bothwell,  and  other  episodes  dealt  with  in  the  poems. 

From  a  literary  standpoint,  the  King's  friendship  with  the 
Scottish  poet  Montgomerie  constitutes  perhaps  the  most 
noteworthy  phase  of  his  reign  in  Scotland,  and  it  may  be 
pointed  out  that  not  only  the  approximate  date  of  the  poet's 
death,  but  many  of  the  details  of  his  life,  are  altered  by  the 
information  now  accessible.1  The  King's  early  intercourse 

1  T.  F.  Henderson's  excellent  James  VI  and  I  (Gouphil  &  Co.,  London, 
1904)  is  prohibitively  expensive,  and  chiefly  political  in  character.     The  biog- 
raphies by  W.  Harris  (London,  1753)  and  by  Robert  Chambers  (Edinburgh, 
1830)  are  both  antiquated,  and  rendered  practically  worthless  by  the  preju- 
dices of  the  authors,  and  their  efforts,  in  Chambers'  words,  "  to  make  the 
book  as  amusing  as  the  nature  of  the  subject  might  lead  the  public  to  expect." 

2  Cf .  the  author's  article  on  Montgomerie's  biography,  Modern  Language 
Review,  January,  1911,  which  calls  attention  to  his  service  under  James  and 
Lennox,  his  friendship  with  Constable,  and  his  death  prior  to  the  King's 
departure  for  England.     This  was  written  before  the  appearance  of  Mr. 


IX 

with  the  English  poet  Constable  and  with  the  minor  writers 
of  his  own  court  also  calls  for  attention ;  indeed,  so  confined 
to  the  court  was  such  poetical  activity  as  existed  in  the 
period  that  a  full  account  of  the  King's  literary  dealings 
might  almost  become  a  history  of  "school"  poetry  in  Scot- 
land in  the  last  quarter  of  the  sixteenth  century.  Later, 
during  his  reign  in  England,  though  the  King's  interests 
were  chiefly  in  other  matters,  he  was  still  surrounded  by 
a  coterie  of  somewhat  amateurishly  poetical  friends  and 
companions,  mostly  Scotchmen  like  Sir  William  Alexander, 
Sir  David  and  John  Murray,  and  Sir  Robert  Ker.  Jonson, 
Donne,  Drayton,  and  other  English  poets  were  friendly 
with  the  members  of  this  circle,  and  there  is  some  tangible 
evidence  that  changes  in  literary  taste  and  fashions  which 
were  taking  place  during  the  reign  were  affected  by  court 
influence.  In  this  connection  an  effort  has  been  made  to 
gather  together  such  information  as  is  available  with  re- 
gard to  the  extension  of  court  patronage  to  men  of  letters. 
Accounts  of  the  royal  households  and  similar  documents 
in  the  Public  Records  Office  and  the  British  Museum,  as 
well  as  calendars  of  state  papers  and  reports  of  the  Histori- 
cal MSS.  Commission,  have  been  searched  for  records  of 
payments  or  biographical  data  of  any  kind.  The  results 
of  this  search  are  contained  in  Chapters  V  and  VI  of  the 
Introduction. 

In  the  preparation  of  the  book,  the  writer  has  placed  him- 
self under  many  obligations,  which  it  is  difficult  adequately 
to  acknowledge.  Gratitude  is  due  especially  to  the  guar- 
dians of  the  British  Museum  and  the  Records  Office,  for 
hospitality  and  courtesy  which  make  his  studies  in  London 
a  pleasant  memory ;  to  Sir  J.  Balfour  Paul,  of  Edinburgh, 

George  Stevenson's  admirable  edition  of  Montgomerie  for  the  Scottish  Text 
Society,  1910,  which  supplies  new  texts  for  the  longer  poems,  and  for  the 
first  time  places  his  biography  on  a  firm  foundation.  Mr.  Stevenson's 
edition  was  not  accessible  to  the  writer  before  the  text  and  notes  of  the  pres- 
ent volume  were  in  press,  and  quotations  from  Montgomerie  are  therefore 
from  the  earlier  edition  of  Dr.  Cranstoun  (S.  T.  S.,  1887).  Chapter  II  of 
the  Introduction,  however,  has  been  altered  and  corrected  in  the  light  of 
Mr.  Stevenson's  researches. 


and  Sir  James  Murray,  of  Oxford  University,  for  informa- 
tion more  exact  and  complete  than  a  stranger  could  reason- 
ably expect.  The  transcript  of  the  epitaph  on  the  tomb 
of  Sir  John  Maitland  was  kindly  supplied  by  the  Rev.  W. 
Proudfoot,  of  Haddington,  Scotland. 

Students  who  have  worked  at  Columbia  University  will 
appreciate  the  author's  debt  to  members  of  the  English 
Department.  In  particular,  Professor  H.  M.  Ay  res  and 
Professor  G.  P.  Krapp  of  Columbia  have  given  assistance 
in  linguistic  difficulties  which  have  arisen  in  the  preparation 
of  the  notes.  At  all  stages  in  its  progress,  the  book  has 
been  under  the  supervision  of  Professor  W.  P.  Trent  and 
Professor  A.  H.  Thorndike,  and  for  such  merits  as  it  may 
have  their  guidance  and  practical  counsel  are  largely  re- 
sponsible. 


THE   MANUSCRIPT 

THE  source  from  which  the  poems  in  the  present  volume 
are  taken  is  a  MS.  now  in  the  British  Museum  (Add.  24195], 
and  acquired,  as  an  inserted  note  indicates,  "at  the  sale 
of  Archbishop  Tenison's  MSS.,  i  July  1861."  A  second 
inscription,  perhaps  in  the  hand  of  the  Archbishop,  reads, 
"Dec.  15,  [16]  89.  The  Gift  of  Mr.  Wright  to  T.  Tenison 
for  his  library."  Evidently,  therefore,  the  MS.  was  pre- 
served in  the  free  library,  the  first  of  its  kind  in  London, 
established  in  the  parish  of  St.  Martin-in-the-Fields  by  the 
Rev.  Thomas  Tenison,  later  Archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
not  far  from  the  time  when  the  book  was  given.  The  donor 
was  presumably  Abraham  Wright  (1611-1690),  clergyman 
and  antiquary,  whose  death,  it  will  be  seen,  occurred  in  the 
following  year.  The  only  later  reference  to  the  collection, 
so  far  as  the  writer  is  aware,  is  the  following  note  in  Dr. 
David  Irving's  Lives  of  the  Scotish  Poets  (Edinburgh,  1804, 
Vol.  II,  p.  259) :  "Mr.  Ritson  informs  us  that  in  the  library 
of  St.  Martins  parish,  Westminster,  is  a  MS.  volume, 
containing  '  all  the  kings  short  poems  that  are  not  printed.' " 
Ritson  died  in  1804,  but  may  have  communicated  with 
Irving  when  the  latter  was  at  work  on  his  Lives;  I  have 
been  unable  to  discover  the  information  among  his  pub- 
lished writings.  Dr.  Irving  presumably  did  not  gain  access 
to  the  poems,  or  he  would  have  spoken  of  them  in  his  criti- 
cism of  the  King's  works. 

The  MS.  itself  consists  of  eighty-five  folios,  in  the  original 
white  vellum  binding,  with  ornate  cover  designs  in  gold 
inclosing  the  motto,  "Domine  salvum  fac  regem."  Sixty- 
one  of  the  folios  are  occupied  by  the  poems,  and  a  part  of 
the  remainder  by  tables  of  contents  at  the  beginning  and 
the  end,  specimens  of  the  King's  correspondence  with 

xi 


Xll 

foreign  scholars,  and  other  short  prose  pieces.1  On  the 
inside  of  the  back  cover  the  name  Charles  is  twice  written ; 
and  on  the  fly-leaves  are  scraps  of  verse  and  the  signatures 
of  Thomas  Gary,2  James  Leviston,3  and  Doctor  John 
Craig.4  The  tables  of  contents,  some  of  the  headings  of 
poems,  numerous  corrections,  and  five  of  the  sonnets  are 
written  by  Prince  Charles,  and  Carey's  hand  appears  fre- 
quently in  corrections  and  in  the  sonnets  now  numbered 
XL VI  and  XL VII.5  The  fact  that  some  of  the  changes  are 
in  the  hand  of  the  King  indicates  that  he  also  went  over  the 
copy.6  The  greater  portion  of  the  MS.  is  in  a  neat  print- 
like  hand,  the  same  as  that  of  the  Museum  MS.  (Old  Royal, 
18  B  XIV}  of  the  King's  Paraphrase  of  the  Psalms.  The 
copyist  of  the  latter  was  a  Scotchman,  as  is  indicated  by  the 
dialect  of  his  marginal  notes;  and  it  is  in  any  case  more 
likely  that  the  task  of  transcribing  the  King's  verse  and 
turning  it  into  English  would  be  given  to  one  familiar  with 
the  Scottish  dialect,  for  example,  either  John  or  Thomas 
Murray,  secretaries  respectively  to  the  King  and  the  Prince. 
A  possible  theory  regarding  the  formation  of  the  collec- 
tion, based  on  the  signatures  and  the  handwritings,  is  that 
it  was  prepared  in  the  King's  household,  corrected  by  James, 
and  again  revised  —  whether  before  or  after  James's  death 
is  not  certain  —  by  Charles  and  Carey.  In  1626,  Sir 
William  Alexander  was  delegated  to  "consider  and  review 

1  Cf.  App.  I. 

2  Thomas  Gary,  or  Carey  (1597-1634),  not  to  be  confused  with  the  poet 
of  the  same  name,  was  a  younger  son  of  Sir  Robert  Carey,  who  was  guardian 
of  Prince  Charles  and  head  of  his  household  until  he  came  to  the  throne. 
Thomas  was  made  a  groom  of  the  chamber  to  the  Prince  on  his  creation 
(Memoirs  of  Sir  Robert  Carey,  ed.  1808,  p.  105),  and  retained  the  position 
after  Charles  became  king.     On  the  latter's  accession  he  was  granted  a 
pension  of  £500  a  year  (Col.  S.  P.  Dom.,  May  25,  1625). 

s  James  Leviston,  William  Murray,  and  Endymion  Porter,  all  grooms 
of  the  chamber  to  Charles,  received  pensions  of  £500  at  the  same  time  as 
Carey  (ibid.).  Leviston,  or  Livingstone,  was  knighted  before  1629  and  made 
Earl  of  Callander  in  1641. 

4  John  Craig  (d.  1654)  was  physician  to  James  and  afterward  to  Charles. 
He  succeeded  his  father,  of  the»same  name,  who  died  in  1620. 

6  This  description  is  in  accord  with  the  one  given  in  the  Museum  Cata- 
logue. 6  Cf.  footnotes,  pp.  5,  10,  19,  25,  43,  53,  etc. 


Xlll 

the  meeter  and  poesie"  of  the  King's  psalms,1  with  a  view  to 
publication,  and  an  edition  —  the  text  quite  different,  how- 
ever, from  that  of  the  Museum  MS.  —  appeared  in  1631. 
Charles  may  have  also  planned  an  edition  of  the  poems, 
but  decided  afterward  not  to  expose  them  thus  to  the  at- 
tacks of  Puritan  critics.  The  corrections  by  the  King,  and 
the  proper  placing  (in  a  MS.  which  now  contains  no  blank 
pages)  of  the  poems  copied  by  Charles  and  Carey,  suggest 
a  date  somewhere  between  1616  and  1625.  The  care  with 
which  the  collection  is  arranged,  revised,  and  the  pieces 
which  had  already  appeared  in  print  crossed  through, 
makes  it  altogether  probable  that  James  himself  planned  to 
have  it  published ;  it  may  at  least  be  accepted  as  a  correct 
and  final  text  for  the  poems  which  it  contains. 

Of  these,  the  pieces  hitherto  printed  (from  other  MS. 
sources)  have  already  been  roughly  indicated  in  the  Preface, 
and  it  remains  merely  to  give  a  fuller  account  of  the  two 
collections  in  which  most  of  them  appear. 

Nine  sonnets  —  corresponding,  in  the  order  in  which  they 
are  printed,  to  XV,  V,  VI,  II,  X,  VIII,  XI,  XII,  and  IX  of 
the  Amatoria  —  are  found  in  the  Publications  of  the  Percy 
Society,  1844,  Vol.  XV,  pp.  32-37.  They  are  arranged  as  a 
single  poem,  and  form  a  part  of  a  series  of  extracts,  entitled 
Poetical  Miscellanies,  selected  and  edited  by  J.  C.  Halliwell 
from  a  much  larger  collection  in  a  MS.  volume,  i2mo., 
owned  at  the  time  by  Andrews,  a  Bristol  bookseller.2  At 
the  end  of  the  sonnets  is  the  colophon,  "  Finis,  Sir  Thomas 
Areskine  of  Gogar,  Knighte"  —  a  signature  which  has 
served  completely  to  conceal  their  actual  authorship.  Sir 
Thomas  Areskine,  or  Erskine,  was  either  the  King's  friend 
and  boyhood  companion  of  that  name,  who  became  Earl  of 
Kelley  in  1619,  or  his  grandson  and  namesake,  who  became 
the  second  earl  in  i63Q.3  The  variants  in  the  Percy  Society 

1  Letter  of  Charles  to  the  Archbishop  of  St.  Andrews,  Earl  of  Stirling's 
Reg.  Royal  Letters,  Edinburgh,  1885,  Vol.  I,  p.  73. 

2  HalliwelFs  preface  to  the  Miscellanies. 

5  It  is  possibly  of  significance  that  a  complication  of  marriages  placed  the 
younger  Erskine  in  the  relationship  of  grandson  to  James  Leviston,  though 
the  two  were  not  far  from  the  same  age.  (Cf.  D.N.B.) 


XIV 

text,  though  frequent,  consist  wholly  of  obvious  errors  in 
transcription  or  printing,  and  it  is  altogether  probable, 
therefore,  that  Erskine's  MS.  was  merely  a  copy  of  the  one 
now  in  the  Museum. 

A  more  important  collection  of  James's  poems  is  the  one 
entitled  Lusus  Regius,1  edited  by  R.  S.  Rait  in  1901  from 
two  MSS.  in  the  Bodleian  Library  (MS.  Bodl.  165-166}. 
These  MSS.  are  in  the  Scottish  dialect,  almost  entirely  in 
the  King's  handwriting,  and  contain  many  of  his  composi- 
tions in  prose  and  verse.  From  corrections  and  marginal 
notes  it  seems  probable  that  they  were  among  the  first 
drafts  from  which  the  Museum  collection  was  prepared. 
Nine  of  the  twelve  pieces  published  by  Mr.  Rait,  or  all 
save  the  psalms  and  the  prose,  appear  in  the  Museum  MS. 
and  are  now  printed.  His  table  of  contents  follows,  with 
references  to  the  corresponding  poems  in  the  present 
volume. 

I.  Fragment  of  a  Masque  .  .  .  An  Epithalamion  upon 
the  Marques  of  Huntlies  Manage,  pp.  47-52. 
The  sonnet  on  p.  49  is  not  in  Rait. 

II.  'Ane  Admonition  to  the  Maister  Poete  to  leave  of 
greit  crakking.'  ...  An  admonition,  etc.,  pp. 
40-44.  The  final  stanza,  following  the  sonnet,  is 
not  in  Rait. 

III.  Sonnet  to  Bacchus  .  .  .  The  sonnet  referring  to  the 

death  of  Montgomerie,  p.  37. 

IV.  On    Wornen  .  .  .  A    Satire    against    Woemen,    pp. 

19-21. 

V.   'Bot  be  the  Contraire  I  Reiose.'  .  .  .     This,  with 

the  stanzas  properly  arranged,  is  Song  I,  pp.  22-23. 

VI.   '  If  Mourning  micht  Amende.'  ...    A  Dier  at  her 

MtlK  Desyr,  pp.  7-9. 

VII.   'Gif  all  the  Floudis  amangis  Thaime  walde  Con- 
cluid.'  .  .  .     Ex  Lucano  libro  quinto,  pp.  44-45. 

1  Lusus  Regius,  being  Poems  and  Other  Pieces  by  King  James  Ye  First. 
Now  first  set  forth  and  Edited  by  R.  S.  Rait,  Constable  &  Co.,  1901.  This  is 
an  expensive  edition  limited  to  275  copies. 


XV 

Mr.  Rait  does  not  call  attention  to  the  fact  that 
this  appears  in  The  Essayes  of  a  Prentise. 
VIII.    'This  Lairgeness  and  this  Breadth  so  Long'  .  .  .  A 

Pairt  of  Du  Bartas  First  Day,  pp.  54-56. 
IX.   On   his   own   Destiny  .  .  .  The   Beginning   of  his 

Mtlts  Jurnei,  pp.  52-53. 

X.   The  CI  Psalm  .  .  .  Not  in  the  Museum  MS. 
XI.   'His  Maiesties  Letter  unto  Mr.  Du  Bartas'  ...  A 
letter  in  French  inviting  the  poet  to  Scotland. 
Cf.  App.  I,  IV,  p.  60. 

XII.  Supplement  to  the  Preface  of  the  Ba<nXt/coi>  A wpov.  .  . 
A  paragraph  explaining  his  attacks  on  the  Puri- 
tans. Not  in  the  Museum  MS. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  titles  in  the  Museum  MS.  fre- 
quently indicate  the  occasions  or  sources  of  the  poems. 
Obscurities  and  breaks  in  the  Bodleian  MS.  are  also  at  times 
remedied  in  the  Museum  copy.  The  Bodleian,  it  is  true, 
presents  the  poems  in  the  dialect  in  which  they  were  origi- 
nally written ;  but  it  was  the  King's  intention  and  it  will  be 
the  preference  of  many  readers  that  his  verse,  like  his  prose, 
should  appear  in  the  more  familiar,  not  to  say  less  uncouth, 
Southern  language  and  spelling.  The  change  is  made 
without  seriously  affecting  either  the  meter  or  the  sense. 
Aside  from  the  relative  merits  of  the  texts,  it  is  desirable 
to  have  together  hi  convenient  form  all  the  verse  of  the 
King  not  in  The  Essayes  of  a  Prentise  or  the  Exercises  at 
vacant  houres. 

In  printing  the  poems  it  has  seemed  advisable,  even  in  the 
cases  of  the  half  dozen  or  more  poems  published  in  the 
King's  lifetime,  to  follow  carefully  the  punctuation  of  the 
MS.  This,  though  scanty,  is  not  seriously  misleading, 
if  one  remembers  that  the  pauses  at  the  ends  of  lines  are 
usually  unmarked.  In  spelling,  the  long  5  has  been  dis- 
carded, and  the  scribal  interchange  of  u,  v,  and  w,  and  of  i 
and  j,  brought  into  conformity  with  modern  usage.  In 
other  respects,  both  spelling  and  capitalization  (save  in 
the  titles)  follow  the  original  exactly,  and  have  been  veri- 


XVI 

fied  by  collation  of  the  proof  with  the  MS.  Changes  in 
handwriting  are  as  a  rule  recorded,  since  they  indicate 
the  King's  supervision,  the  authenticity  of  titles  and  cor- 
rections, and  the  extent  of  the  alterations  made  by  Charles 
and  Carey.  Corrections  are  in  all  cases  followed  in  the 
text,  with  the  original  phrasing,  if  decipherable,  indicated 
in  footnotes ;  variant  readings  from  printed  sources  are 
also  given  when  they  are  of  the  slightest  importance  or  when 
the  difference  is  not  merely  in  spelling  or  dialect.  Comment 
other  than  textual  is  reserved  for  the  notes  at  the  end. 


INTRODUCTION 

I 
THE  KING  AND  HIS  TUTORS 

"  Quae  tarn  docta  fuit,  quamvis  privata,  juventus  ?  " 

—  GROTIUS,  Poemata,  p.  64. 

THE  series  of  murders,  tumults,  and  intrigues  which 
finally  left  the  infant  James  an  orphan  in  the  hands  of  his 
mother's  enemies,  gave  the  nobles  and  clergy  of  that  faction 
a  rare  opportunity  for  educational  experiment.  The  result 
was  ironically  unexpected,  but  even  in  the  light  of  results 
one  cannot  criticize  the  earnestness  or  wisdom  with  which 
the  experiment  was  undertaken.  In  August,  I56Q,1  when 
the  King  was  but  a  little  over  three  years  old,  four  precep- 
tors were  appointed  to  take  charge  of  his  moral  and  intel- 
lectual training.  Two  of  these,  David  and  Adam  Erskine, 
lay  Abbots  respectively  of  Cambuskenneth  and  Dryburgh, 
obtained  their  posts  as  kinsmen  of  the  Earl  of  Mar,  the 
King's  guardian.  Both  were  of  the  royal  household  and 
allies  of  Morton  in  the  troubles  of  i5y8,2  and  prominent 
among  the  plotters  against  the  King  in  the  Raid  of  Ruthven 
(1582) ; 3  but  they  are  not  mentioned  as  tutors  in  later  acts 
of  the  Council,  and  it  is  not  clear  that  they  were  ever  closely 
associated  with  the  King  as  instructors.  The  remaining 
two,  George  Buchanan  and  Peter  Young,  were  confirmed 

1  Diet.  Nat.  Biog.,  from  a  document  among  Lord  Haddington's  MSS. 
in  the  Advocates'  Library.  The  tutors  entered  upon  their  duties  early  in  the 
following  year,  —  "Admissus  in  clientalem  regis,  January  4,1569  [70]" 
(Young's  Ephemeride,  in  Vita  Quorundam  Eruditissimorum  &•  illustrium 
Virorum,  Th.  Smith,  London,  1707,  p.  23). 

z  Memoirs  of  Sir  James  Melville,  Bann.  Club,  p.  236. 

8  Papers  relating  to  the  Master  of  Gray,  Bann.  Club,  p.  59. 

xvii 


xvm 

in  their  offices  by  two  subsequent  acts  of  the  Privy  Council,1 
following  changes  in  the  regency.  The  form  in  each  case 
was  the  same;  the  King's  education  in  "literature  and 
religioun  "  was  to  continue  under  "  Maisteris  George  Buchan- 
nane  and  Petir  Young  his  present  Pedagogis,  or  sic  as  salbe 
heireftir  appointit  .  .  .  agreing  in  religioun  with  the  saidis 
Maisteris."  The  characters  of  all  four  tutors  and  of  the 
widow  of  the  Earl  of  Mar,  who  was  mistress  of  the  house,  old 
at  Stirling,  are  succinctly  indicated  by  a  passage  in  Sir 
James  Melville's  Memoirs:  "  The  tua  abbotis  wer  wyse  and 
modest;  My  Lady  Mar  was  wyse  and  schairp,  and  held 
the  King  in  gret  aw ;  and  sa  did  Mester  George  Buchwen- 
nen.  Mester  Peter  Yong  was  gentiller,  and  was  laith  till 
offend  the  King  at  any  tym,  and  used  him  self  wairly,  as  a 
man  that  had  mynd  of  his  awen  weill,  be  keping  of  his  Maies- 
teis  favour.  Bot  Mester  George  was  a  stoik  philosopher 
and  loked  not  far  before  the  hand.  ...  He  was  also  of 
gud  religion  for  a  poet."  2 

Buchanan  and  Young  together  were  chiefly  responsible 
for  the  King's  training  in  morals  and  scholarship  during  the 
twelve  quiet  years  he  spent  at  Stirling  Castle.  The  choice 
of  the  former  was  predetermined  by  his  eminence  not  only 
in  Scotland  but  in  all  Europe  as  a  teacher,  scholar,  and 
writer.  Though  at  the  time  of  his  appointment  he  had 
written  nothing  in  the  vernacular,  he  had  a  wide  reputation 
as  a  poet  and  dramatist  in  Latin,3  and  as  a  leader  of  Protes- 
tant thought  in  politics  and  theology.  His  De  Jure  Regni 
apud  Scotos  gives  a  sufficient  idea  of  the  startling,  though 
from  a  modern  standpoint  sound,  political  doctrines  with 
which  James's  mind  was  fed  during  his  credulous  childhood. 
Written  at  the  time  of  Mary's  downfall,  it  asserts  the  ac- 
countability of  a  ruler  to  his  subjects,  justifies  tyrannicide, 
and  shows  incidentally  to  what  an  extent  radical  political 

1  Acts  of  the  Privy  Council  of  Scotland,  January  28, 1572-1573,  following 
the  death  of  Mar;  May  3,  1578,  following  the  temporary  fall  of  Morton. 

2  Bannatyne  Club  edition,  p.  262. 

8  Cf.  Du  Bellay,  Regrets,  sonnet  CLXXIX :  — 

"Buchanan,  qui  d'un  vers  aux  plus  vieux  comparable 
Le  surnom  de  Sauvage  ostes  a  1'Ecossois." 


XIX 

thought  was  in  the  air  while  the  first  Stuart  king  of  England 
was  still  an  infant.  Much  of  this  teaching  James  absorbed, 
and  it  appears  later  oddly  mixed  with  his  own  natural  and, 
in  his  situation,  justifiable  views  of  royal  prerogative.  In 
later  years,  James  usually  spoke  of  Buchanan  with  respect. 
He  told  ScaraveUi,  the  Venetian  Secretary  in  England,  of 
"the  days  .  .  .  when  my  tutor,  Buchanan,  gave  me  in- 
struction in  the  excellence  of  that  government  [the  Venetian 
Republic] " ; 1  and  he  ascribed  the  correctness  of  his  Latin 
pronunciation  to  Buchanan,  "who  is  well-known  one  of 
the  best  Latin  scholars  in  all  Europe." 

To  the  same  influence  James,  no  doubt,  owed  the  begin- 
ning of  his  ambition  to  become  a  scholar  and  writer ;  some 
of  his  shorter  poems,  notably  An  Mnigme  of  Sleepe  and  A 
Sonnet  on  the  Moneth  of  May,  are  similar  in  theme  and 
treatment  to  Latin  poems  of  his  tutor,  and  it  is  quite  pos- 
sible that  many  of  the  classical  ornaments  and  allusions  in 
his  verse  could  be  traced  to  the  same  source.  Yet  in  the 
final  fixing  of  his  literary  tastes  and  of  his  character  in  gen- 
eral, the  older  teacher  probably  did  not  have  so  large  a  share 
as  is  commonly  supposed.  A  letter  from  Buchanan  to 
Rodolph  Gualter,  July  24,  I579,2  refers  to  his  increasing 
illness,  and  suggests  that  his  relations  with  the  King  were 
already  becoming  strained:  "I  have  now  been  from  the 
court  more  than  six  weeks  by  reason  of  ill  health ;  but  as 
soon  as  I  return  hither,  I  will  endeavor  that  the  King  shall 
steal  a  few  moments  from  his  occupations  to  give  you  a 
testimony  of  his  favorable  regard  .  .  .  and  should  I  not 
be  able  to  accomplish  this  myself,  I  will  take  care  that  it 
shall  be  managed  by  my  colleague  the  pious  and  learned 
Peter  Young."  Buchanan  at  this  time  was  in  his  seventy- 
fourth  year;  he  speaks  again  in  the  dedication  to  James 
of  his  History  of  Scotland  (September,  1581)  of  the  'incur- 
able illness  which  had  prevented  him  from  carrying  on  the 
duties  of  instruction.'  It  is  clear,  moreover,  from  the 

1  Cal.  S.  P.  Venetian,  Vol.  X,  No.  78  (1603). 

*  Zurich  Letters,  Parker  Soc.,  1845,  Second  Series,  p.  310.     Gualter  had 
dedicated  to  James  his  Homilies  on  St.  Paul  (1576). 


statement  of  Melville  already  quoted  and  from  numerous 
anecdotes,  apocryphal  or  otherwise,  that  Buchanan,  who  as 
a  member  of  the  Lennox  family  had  a  special  hatred  for 
Queen  Mary,  extended  his  dislike  to  the  "true  bird  of  that 
bloody  nest,"  l  and  that  this  feeling  was  reciprocal.  Other 
evidence  could  be  given,  if  it  were  necessary,  to  show  that 
the  influence  of  Buchanan  ended  with  the  ascendancy  of 
d'Aubigny  in  the  King's  thirteenth  year. 

The  remarks  of  Melville,  favorable  to  Buchanan  as  they 
are,  indicate  that  the  King's  second  tutor,  Peter  Young, 
adopted  a  more  tactful  and  possibly  a  wiser  attitude. 
When  he  returned  from  Geneva  to  enter  upon  his  duties, 
he  was  a  young  man  of  about  twenty-five.  Buchanan 
speaks  of  him  as  "adolescens  probus  et  doctus" ; 2  and  the 
testimony  of  the  English  representative  Bowes,  who  in 
1580  wrote  that  he  would  take  no  money  for  his  influence 
over  the  King,3  is  in  itself,  considering  the  practices  of  the 
period,  an  ample  certificate  of  character.  Young  was  ap- 
pointed Master  Almoner  (October  25, 1577),  Envoy  to  Den- 
mark (1585  and  later),  one  of  the  "Octavians"  in  charge 
of  the  King's  finances  (1596),  and  tutor  to  Prince  Charles 
and  "chief  overseer"  of  his  household  (i6o4).4  To  him 
fell  perhaps  the  larger  share  of  the  King's  instruction  and 
entertainment  in  his  boyhood. 

Neither  of  the  tutors  could  refrain  from  the  temptation 
to  turn  his  apt  pupil  into  a  prodigy  of  learning.  He  was 
"the  sweitest  sight  in  Europe  that  day,"  writes  the  diarist 
Melville,  with  an  enthusiasm  which  cooled  as  the  prodigy 
grew  older,  "for  strange  and  extraordinar  gifts  of  ingyne, 
judgement,  memorie  and  language.  I  hard  him  discours, 
walking  upe  and  doun  in  the  auld  Lady  Marr's  hand,  of 
knawlage  and  ignorance,  to  my  greit  mervell  and  estonish- 
ment."  5  Killigrew,  in  another  well-known  passage  written 

1  Quoted  from  a  remark  attributed  to  Buchanan  in  D.  Irving,  Memoirs  of 
the  Life  and  Works  of  George  Buchanan,  London,  1807,  p.  169. 

2  Opera,  ed.  1715,  Vol.  II ;  Episiola,  p.  12. 

*  Bowes'  Correspondence,  Surtees  Soc.,  p.  28,  June  3,  1580. 

4  G.  F.  Warner,  The  Library  of  James  VI,  Scot.  Hist.  Soc.,  pp.  xiii-xv. 

1  Diary,  Bann.  Club,  p.  38  (1574). 


XXI 

just  after  the  King's  eighth  birthday,  wonders  at  his  skill 
in  translating  any  chapter  of  the  Bible  out  of  Latin  into 
French,  and  out  of  French  into  English.  He  also  danced 
for  the  envoy,  and  showed  himself  "sure  a  prince  of  great 
hope,  if  God  send  him  life."  1  "They  gar  me  speik  Latin  ar 
I  could  speik  Scotis,"  2  said  James,  with  a  touch  of  the  humor 
and  good  sense  he  could  display  occasionally;  but  the 
effect  of  the  drill  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  in  later  life  he 
could  speak  "Latin  and  French  perfectly  and  Italian  quite 
well,"  3  and  knew  a  great  part  of  the  Bible  by  heart,  so  that 
he  could  refer  offhand  to  chapter  and  verse.4 

More  exact  information  regarding  the  King's  studies, 
evidently  at  a  somewhat  later  period,  may  be  gained  from 
an  undated  schedule  of  his  daily  tasks,  written  by  the  tutor 
Young  and  included  by  Thomas  Smith  in  his  notice  of 
Young's  life.5  "After  prayers,"  according  to  this  docu- 
ment, "a  period  was  devoted  to  Greek,  with  reading  from 
the  New  Testament,  Isocrates,  or  Plutarch's  Apothegms, 
and  practice  in  Greek  grammar.  The  rest  of  the  forenoon 
was  given  to  Livy,  Justin,  Cicero,  or  Scottish  and  other 
history,  and  the  afternoon  to  exercises  in  composition,  or, 
if  time  permitted,  to  the  study  of  arithmetic,  geography  and 
astronomy,  dialectic,  or  rhetoric."  A  bill  of  Gibson,  the 
King's  bookbinder,  presented  before  1580,  includes  in  its 
list  of  books  a  number  of  school  texts  evidently  worn  with 
use,  among  them  such  works  as  Euclid's  Elementa,  the 
Questiones  Logica  and  Questiones  Physica  of  Freigius,  Car- 
danus  on  the  significance  of  eclipses,  Orontius's  De  Fcetu 
Humano,  Volphius's  De  Perseverantia,  Cassiodorus's  Dialec- 
tica,  Beza's  De  Notis  Ecclesia,  and  Hemmingsen's  De  Super- 
stitionibus  Magicis.6  The  King's  later  writings  show  his 

1  Letter  to  Walsingham,  June  30,  1574.    Quoted  in  Tytler's  Hist,  of  Scot., 
Vol.  II,  p.  9. 

2  Apothegmata  Regis,  in  Young's  MSS.    Quoted  by  Warner,  p.  xiii. 
1  Col.  S.  P.  Venetian,  Vol.  X,  No.  22  (1603). 

4  Col.  S.  P.  Spanish,  1586-1595,  p.  250. 

5  Vita  Quorundam  Eruditissimorum  &illustrium  Virorum,  London,  1707, 
p.  6. 

•Maitland  Club  Miscellany,  Vol.  I,  p.  17.  The  payment  of  the  bill  is 
dated  October  i,  1580. 


XX11 

training  in  dialectic,  his  wide  reading  in  theology  and  the 
theory  of  government  as  revealed  in  history,  and  his  special 
fondness  for  the  magic,  witchcraft,  and  pseudo-physiology 
of  Pliny,  Plutarch,  and  such  contemporary  writers  as  Hem- 
mingsen  and  the  physician  Cardanus.1 

The  library  gathered  together  for  these  pursuits  was 
probably  larger  and  more  varied  than  any  other  in  Scotland 
at  the  time.2  Many  of  Queen  Mary's  books  were  included, 
about  a  hundred  and  fifty  of  which  had  been  left  in  Edin- 
burgh Castle  and  the  remainder  in  part  handed  over  to 
James.  This  collection  was  rich  in  medieval  romances  and 
in  the  works  of  contemporary  French  poets.  The  King's 
own  library  contained  over  four  hundred  volumes,  which, 
with  other  recorded  acquisitions  not  mentioned  by  Young, 
bring  the  total  to  about  six  hundred  books  accessible  to 
the  King  in  1578.  Buchanan  and  Young  were  guided  in 
their  purchases  by  their  own  scholarly  tastes  and  a  solici- 
tude for  the  edification  rather  than  the  entertainment  of 
their  pupil.  More  than  half  of  the  books  in  Young's  list 
are,  as  one  might  expect,  in  Latin,  perhaps  one  hundred  and 
fifty  in  French,  a  few  in  Greek,  Italian,  and  Spanish,  and 
scarcely  two  score  in  English.  The  latter  include  Ascham's 
Toxophilus  and  The  Schoolmaster,  Elyot's  Governour  and 
The  Institution  of  a  Gentleman,  Hoby's  translation  of  // 
Cortegiano,  and  almost  nothing  else  of  literary  interest  — 
though  Gibson's  list  ends  pleasantly  with  Lustie  Juventus. 
In  contrast  with  the  absence  of  English  verse,  James  had 
in  French,  either  in  his  own  collection  or  his  mother's,  the 
poems  of  Rcnsard  nearly  complete,  Du  Bellay's  sEneid  and 
L'Olive  augmentee,  and  volumes  of  Marot,  Magny/Thyard, 

1  Cf.  notes,  especially  to  poems  XVII,  XVIII,  LIV,  and  LVI. 

2  Lists  of  the  books  left  by  Mary  at  Holyrood  and  Edinburgh  Castle  were 
published  by  the  Bannatyne  Club  in  the  Inventaires  de  la  Royne  Descosse,  1863, 
and  carefully  annotated  in  Julian  Sharman's  monograph,  The  Library  of  Mary 
Queen  of  Scots,  London,  1889.    The  Edinburgh  Castle  list,  together  with 
Gibson's  bill  and  an  earlier  bill  for  thirty-one  books  purchased  for  James,  had 
previously  been  printed  in  the  Maitland  Club  Miscellany  cited  above.     The 
King's  books  are  given  in  G.  F.  Warner's  Library  of  James  VI,  1573-1583, 
Scot.  Hist.  Soc.,  1893,  from  a' MS.  in  the  hand  of  Peter  Young,  with  intro- 
duction and  notes,  to  which  the  reader  is  referred  for  more  detailed  study.  -^ 


XX111 

and  Du  Bartas ;  in  Italian,  Dante  and  Petrarch ;  and  the 
classics  in  abundance  both  in  the  original  and  in  translation. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  portions  of  Young's  MS. 
is  a  list,  later  than  the  rest,  of  forty-six  books  taken  from 
Stirling  to  Holyrood  House,  November  n,  1583,  presum- 
ably chosen  by  the  King  himself,  who  was  then  in  his  eigh- 
teenth year,  and  at  a  time  coincident  with  his  first  essays 
in  verse  under  Montgomerie.1  Aside  from  a  dozen  or 
more  volumes  of  the  classics,  and  political  treatises  such  as 
Cheke's  Hurt  of  Sedition',  The  True  Religion  and  Popery, 
and  Buchanan's  De  Jure  Regni,  the  list  includes  Daneau's 
Geographica  Poetica,  Ronsard's  La  Franqiade  and  two  vol- 
umes of  his  Poemss,2  and  Du  Bellay's  Musagn&machie  and 
L'Olive  augmentee.  The  latter  items  may  indicate  the 
King's  preparatory  reading  for  the  sonnets  and  the  treatise 
on  the  art  of  poesy  in  The  Essayes  of  a  Prentise.  Aside  from 
the  influence  of  older  native  poetry,  the  poetic  theory  and 
practice  of  both  James  and  Montgomerie  were  based  chiefly 
on  French  models. 

Nothing  very  serious,  one  might  think,  could  be  wrong 
with  a  young  gentleman  who  would  undertake  so  profitable 
a  course  of  reading  as  the  one  just  outlined.  James,  indeed, 
emerged  or  escaped  from  the  hands  of  his  guardians  a  mix- 
ture of  curious  and  not  wholly  unlikable  qualities.  What- 
ever he  was  willing  to  pretend  or  call  himself  for  political 
purposes,  it  must  be  admitted  that  his  religious  convictions 
were  reasonably  founded  and  sincere.  From  the  worst 
vices  of  his  family  and  nation  he  was  free ;  he  did  not  drink 
to  excess,  and  he  was  so  continent  that  he  excited  the  anxiety 
of  the  court ;  and  he  was  reasonably  observant  of  the  rest 
of  the  commandments,  if  one  excepts  the  third,  fourth, 

1  Warner,  pp.  xxvii,  xxxv.    That  the  King  selected  the  books  may  be 
surmised  chiefly  from  the  fact  that  they  were  in  line  with  his  activities  in  the 
following  winter. 

2  In  the  1567  edition  of  Ronsard  the  third  volume,  entitled  Poemes,  con- 
tained his  Abrege  de  I' Art  Pottique  franqois.     The  books  James  took  were  in 
quarto,  and  this  was  the  only  edition  of  Ronsard  of  that  size.     Both  this 
treatise  and  Du  Bellay's  Defense  el  Illustration  de  la  Langue  franqaise  were 
among  the  books  of  Mary. 


XXIV 

fifth,  and  perhaps  the  ninth.  It  should  be  remembered 
that  James's  middle  course  in  politics  and  religion  exposed 
him  to  the  attack  of  both  extremes,  and  especially  to  the 
abuse  of  writers  such  as  Wilson,  Osborne,  and  Welden,  who, 
like  Prynne,  fed  the  ears  of  credulous  Puritans  with  the 
dregs  of  court  scandal.  Curiosity  hunters  in  the  eighteenth 
century  and  later  found  the  accounts  of  these  "caper- 
witted"  writers,  as  Bishop  Hackett  calls  them,  more  at- 
tractive reading  than  those  of  soberer  annalists,  and  even 
the  James  of  The  Fortunes  of  Nigel,  vivid  as  it  is,  is  an  effec- 
tive caricature  and  not  a  truthful  portrait.  Its  influence, 
however,  is  not  easily  counteracted  by  the  soberer  judg- 
ments of  Von  Ranke,  Gardiner,  Pattison,  Spedding,  Tytler, 
and  the  majority  of  later  historians.  Most  of  the  King's 
faults  can  be  traced  to  love  of  pleasure  and  lack  of  self-con- 
trol, which  were  inherited  traits ;  his  lavishness  of  expense, 
devotion  to  favorites,  dislike  of  business,  impatience  at 
prolonged  mental  exertion  or  even  tedious  entertainment, 
—  all  are  manifestations  of  common  Stuart  failings. 
Though  he  had  the  intelligence  and  wit  of  his  family,  he  had 
no  great  share  of  its  dignity.  His  fits  of  tears,  his  absurd 
displays  of  affection,  his  coarseness,  —  though  this  is  not 
in  his  writings  and  perhaps  did  not  so  much  trouble  old 
courtiers  of  Elizabeth  like  Sir  John  Harington,1  —  made  it 
hard  for  him  to  command  the  respect  even  of  his  friends. 

1  Author  of  The  Metamorphosis  of  Ajax  (1596).  His  Nugce  Antiques  (ed. 
Th.  Park,  1804)  is  one  of  the  chief  sources  for  court  gossip  of  the  first  ten 
years  of  James's  reign  in  England.  Portions  of  it,  however,  should  be  taken 
in  the  light  of  his  earlier  performance. 


II 


THE  STUDY  OF  POETRY  UNDER  MONT- 
GOMERIE 

"Beloved  Sanders  maistre  of  our  art." 

—  Admonition,  1.  2. 

The  arrival  in  Scotland  of  Esme  Stuart  d'Aubigny  in 
September,  I579,1  and  the  King's  "first  and  magnificent" 
entry  into  Edinburgh  in  the  next  month,  mark  the  begin- 
ning of  a  complete  change  from  the  latter's  quiet  life  at 
Stirling.  D'Aubigny  was  a  cousin  of  James's  father,  a  man 
of  "cumlie  proportion  and  civil  behaviour,"  according  to 
Melville,  "upright,  just,  and  gentle,  but  wanting  experience 
in  the  state  of  the  country."  2  "False"  3  has  been  added; 
yet  it  is  likely  that  his  influence  over  the  young  King  was 
gained  at  first  by  nothing  more  objectionable  than  his  per- 
sonal charm  and  the  boy's  natural  feeling  for  his  kindred. 
Together,  amid  the  grief  and  railings  of  the  Kirk,  they  set 
about  the  overthrow  of  the  Regent  Morton  and  the  collec- 
tion at  court  of  more  congenial  followers.  "Papists  with 
great  ruffes  and  syde  bellies  were  suffered  in  the  presence 
of  the  Kynge."  4  "His  Majesties  chaste  ears  were  fre- 
quently abused  with  unknown  Italian  and  French  forms  of 
oaths,  days  were  turned  into  nights,  and  Arran's  mistress 
infected  the  air  of  the  court."  In  milder  language,  James 
was  easily  distracted  by  less  elevated  phases  of  humanism 
than  the  study  of  the  classics  and  Calvinistic  theology. 

Among  those  who  found  the  change  not  unpleasant  was 

1  D'Aubigny  arrived  at  Stirling  September  15.    James  entered  Edinburgh 
on  the  2gth  of  the  same  month,  but  tie  formal  celebration  did  not  take  place 
until  the  i5th  of  October.     (Moysie's  Memoirs,  Bann.  Club,  p.  25.) 

2  Memoirs,  Bann.  Club,  p.  240. 

8  Andrew  Lang,  History  of  Scotland,  Vol.  II,  p.  264.  D'Aubigny  is  thought 
to  have  served  the  Catholic  interest  (which,  be  it  said  hi  his  favor,  was  by  no 
means  his  own)  throughout  his  stay  hi  Scotland. 

4  Bowes'  Correspondence,  Surtees  Soc.,  p.  136. 

xxv 


XXVI 

Alexander  Montgomerie,  author  of  The  Cherrie  and  the 
Slae,  and  the  only  Scottish  poet  of  importance  who  was 
writing  in  this  period.  In  the  next  ten  years  his  life  con- 
nects itself  closely  with  the  King's,  and  affords  the  best 
approach  to  the  latter's  relations  with  Scottish  literature. 
There  is  reason  to  suppose  that  he  numbered  among  his 
companions  the  English  poet  Constable ;  he  was  the  leader 
}f  the  quasi-literary  group  of  envoys  and  intelligencers  who 
were  about  the  court  and  hailed  in  sonnets  the  issues  of  the 
King's  poems ;  and,  as  will  appear  later,  he  was  the  King's 
guide  in  his  first  ventures  into  verse  and  criticism. 

The  date  of  his  birth  is  still  uncertain,  but  the  recently 
published  researches  of  Mr.  George  Stevenson  *  make  it 
clear  that,  while  he  was  born  not  later  than  1545,  he 
belonged  to  a  younger  generation  of  the  Hessilheid  Mont- 
gomeries  than  the  one  with  which  he  has  hitherto  been  con- 
aected,  and  that  his  mother,  who  died  after  a  long  widow- 
hood in  1583,  was  a  great  granddaughter  of  Sir  John  Stewart 
of  Dernely,  first  Earl  of  Lennox,  from  whom  James  and 
d'Aubigny  were  also  directly  descended.  The  poet  was 
thus  a  member  of  the  Stewart  clan,  and  his  kinship  with  the 
King  helps  to  explain  the  favor  in  which  he  stood  at  court. 
Of  his  early  life  little  is  known,  but  there  is  reason  to  believe 
that  he  was  in  the  Low  Countries  at  some  time  during  the 
seventies,2  and  afterward  about  the  court  as  a  follower  of 

1  Poems  of  Alexander  Montgomerie,  Supplementary  Volume,  Scottish  Text 
Society,  1910. 

2  Cf.  1.  591  of  Polwart  and  Montgomeries  Flyting:  — 

"Syne  forward  to  Flanders  fast  fled  or  he  ceast." 

A  Captain  Robert  Montgomerie  —  whose  friendship  with  the  Hessilheid 
branch  of  the  family  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  his  name  appears,  with  the 
title  added,  as  prolocutor  for  Hugh  of  Hessilheid  in  a  lawsuit  (Pitcairn's 
Crim.  Trials,  Vol.  I,  p.  62)  —  was  sent  to  Flanders  in  the  spring  of  1573  with 
a  force  of  about  three  thousand  horse  and  foot  (Cal.  S.  P.  For.,  1572-1574, 
Nos.  460,  1114,  1163).  The  poet  may  have  accompanied  this  expedition. 
Young,  in  his  list  of  the  King's  books  (Warner,  pp.  1,  lix),  written  before 
1578,  records  two  gifts,  one  "Gottin  fra  Capten  Montgomery,"  and  the  other 
"Donn6e  par  le  Capitaine  Robert  Montgommery."  The  difference  in  the 
form  of  the  entries  may  serve  to  distinguish  between  the  two  captains,  and 
the  gifts  of  books  would  indicate  their  return  from  abroad.  Robert  Hackett 
came  back  from  Flanders  the  next  year  with  at  least  a  dozen  (ibid.,  p.  xxxix) . 


XXV11 

Morton.1  The  only  poems  of  his  which  belong  clearly  in 
this  period  are  The  Navigatioun  and  The  Cartell  of  the  Thre 
Ventrous  Knichts,  written  for  the  King's  first  entry  into 
Edinburgh. 

That  the  poet  joined  the  Lennox  faction  at  court,  and 
during  the  next  ten  years  was  first  a  "familiar  servitour" 
and  afterward  a  pensioner  of  the  King,  is  established  by 
evidence  drawn  both  from  his  writings  and  from  documents 
of  the  period.  On  March  5,  1579-1580,  d'Aubigny  was 
made  Earl  of  Lennox,  and  soon  after  acquired  the  large 
revenues  of  the  Bishopric  of  Glasgow.  Robert  Mont- 
gomerie,  a  kinsman  of  the  poet,2  was  appointed  "tulchan" 
archbishop,  as  the  means  by  which  the  money  might  reach 
Lennox.  He  was  thus  a  follower  of  Lennox  as  early  as 
1581,  and  this  bears  out  the  evidence  in  a  sonnet  of  Mont- 
gomerie  (XVII,  in  the  numbering  of  Cranstoun's  edition  for 
the  Scottish  Text  Society)  that  the  poet  was  in  the  same 
service  and  in  this  way  a  member  of  the  royal  household. 
For  later  reference  the  sonnet  is  given  in  full;  the  "suete 
Duke"  was  Lennox's  son  Ludovic,  who  at  the  time  when  the 
poem  was  written  was  about  nineteen  years  old,3  and  the 
"umquhyle  Maister"  was  not  Morton,  as  has  generally  been 
supposed,  but  Lennox  himself.  This  is  shown  by  the  fact 
that  Henry  Keir,  one  of  the  companions  mentioned,  was 
Lennox's  private  secretary4  and  a  great  practicer  against 

1  This  may  be  gathered  from  a  reference  in  Melville's  Diary  (p.  45,  c. 
1576)  to  a  "Cap ten  Mongummerie,  a  guid  honest  man,  the  Regent's  domes- 
tic."   The  given  name  is  omitted,  but  the  term  "domestic"  and  the  joke  in 
the  context  suggest  the  poet.     Cf.  XXII,  note. 

2  It  has  been  supposed  that  he  was  the  poet's  brother,  but  for  this  Ste- 
venson finds  no  documentary  evidence.    He  was  appointed  minister  hi  Stirling 
in  1572,  at  the  request  of  Morton  (Acts  of  Gen.  Ass.  of  the  Kirk,  p.  135).    On 
his  acceptance  of  the  bishopric,  he  was  excommunicated  by  the  Kirk,  and  on 
one  occasion  attacked  by  an  Edinburgh  mob  with  stones  and  rotten  eggs,  an 
episode  the  account  of  which  so  amused  the  King  that  he  lay  down  by  the  Inch 
of  Perth  unable  to  contain  himself  for  laughter.     According  to  James,  he  was 
a  "seditious  loon";    the  Kirk  accused  him  of  opposing  the  "doctrine  of 
Christ,  who  pronounceth  that  the  most  part  are  rebellious,  and  perish,"  and 
related  that  he  had  been  found  drunk  and  in  pursuit  of  his  servant  with  a 
drawn  whinger  (Calderwood,  Hist,  of  the  Kirk,  Vol.  VI,  pp.  580,  635).       „' 

3  Historic  of  King  James  Sext,  Bann.  Club,  p.  189. 
\Cal.  S.  P.  For.,' January  15,  1580. 


XXV111 

the  Kirk.1  Constable  was  either  Archibald  Douglas,  the 
Scottish  representative  in  London,  who  occupied  the  curi- 
ous position  of  an  envoy  paid  by  the  government  to  which 
he  was  sent,  and  who  was  sometimes  referred  to  by  this 
title ; 2  or  Henry  Constable,  the  English  sonneteer  and 
Catholic  emissary,  whose  activities  make  his  intimacy  with 
Keir  and  Montgomerie  at  least  equally  probable.3 

[To  his  Majestic,  for  his  pension.] 

Adeu,  my  King,  court,  cuntrey,  and  my  kin ; 

Adeu,  suete  Duke,  vhose  father  held  me  deir ; 

Adeu,  companiones,  Constable  and  Keir : 

Thrie  treuar  hairts,  I  trou,  shall  neuer  tuin. 
If  byganes  to  revolve  I  suld  begin, 

My  tragedie  wald  cost  you  mony  a  teir 

To  heir  hou  hardly  I  am  handlit  heir, 

Considring  once  the  honour  I  wes  in. 
Shirs,  ye  haif  sene  me  griter  with  his  Grace, 

And  with  your  umquhyle  Maister,  to,  and  myne ; 

Quha  thogt  the  Poet  somtyme  worth  his  place, 

Suppose  ye  sie  they  shot  him  out  sensyne. 
Sen  wryt,  nor  wax,  nor  word  is  not  a  word ; 
I  must  perforce  ga  seik  my  fathers  suord. 

By  the  Raid  of  Ruthven,  August  22,  1582,  the  oppo- 
nents of  Lennox  secured  possession  of  the  King's  person  and 
drove  the  Duke  back  to  France,  where  he  died  in  May  of 
the  next  year.  Montgomerie,  however,  remained  in  the 
household,  for,  on  April  24,  1583,  he  appeared  as  the  King's 
messenger  before  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Kirk,  for- 
bidding them  to  remove  the  principal  or  members  of  the 
University  of  Glasgow.4  Again  in  Calderwood,  in  August 

1  Melville's  Memoirs,  p.  240.     In  August,  1585,  Sir  Edward  Stafford  wrote 
from  Paris  that  "John  [Henry?]  Keyer,  a  Scot,  sometime  secretary  of  the 
Duke  of  Lennox,  had  been  with  the  Queen  of  Scots  in  disguise"  (Cal.  S.  P. 
Sco.,  p.  440). 

2  Calderwood,  Vol.  VI,  p.  486. 
8  Cf.  p.  xxxvii. 

4  Calderwood,  History  of  the  Kirk,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  708. 


XXIX 

of  the  same  year,  we  learn  that  "  the  King's  old  household 
servants  were  changid  for  the  most  part,  and  the  rest  were 
likewise  to  be  removed,  as  James  Murray  of  Powmaes, 
Captain  Montgomerie,  etc."  1  This  change  it  is  difficult  to 
explain,  unless  it  was  a  concession  to  the  demands  of  the 
Kirk  following  James's  escape  in  June  from  the  control 
of  the  Ruthven  nobles.  But  it  is  quite  unlikely  that  it 
represents  any  withdrawal  of  favor;  Montgomerie  was 
now  placed  on  a  pension  of  five  hundred  merks  a  year, 
granted  by  James,  July  7,  1583,  and  paid  regularly  until 
1586,  when  the  poet  left  Scotland  on  an  errand  abroad  for 
the  King.2 

In  November  of  1583  the  interesting  packet  of  political 
tracts  and  French  verse  was  brought  from  Stirling  to  Holy- 
rood,3  and  in  the  ensuing  winter  James  seems  to  have 
settled  down  to  the  examination  of  Scottish  histories,  the 
censorship  of  treasonable  documents,  and  the  study  and 
composition  of  poetry.  The  Phoenix,  lamenting  the  death 
of  Lennox  and  referring  to  the  arrival  of  his  son,4  was  written 
at  this  time,  and  is  the  longest  and  best  of  the  poems  which 
appeared  the  next  year  in  The  Essayes  of  a  Prentise.5  The 
translation  from  Du  Bartas  in  the  Essayes  may  belong  to 
the  same  period,  but  the  boyish  crudity  of  the  Reulis  and 
cautelis  and  the  twelve  "sonnets  and  suites  to  the  gods" 
suggests  that  they  were  composed  still  earlier.  The  "Song, 
the  first  verses  that  ever  the  King  made"  (LIII),  was  writ- 
ten, according  to  the  heading  in  Calderwood,  when  he  was 
"fyfteene  yeere  old,"  and  there  is  other  evidence  that  his 

1  Ibid.,  Vol.  VIII,  App.,  p.  250.  Since  Montgomerie  appears  as  a  "sirvi- 
tour  of  the  Kingis  Majestie"  in  a  document  dated  December  30,  1584  (Ste- 
venson, p.  304),  it  is  reasonable  to  conclude  that  these  earlier  references  are  to 
him. 

1  Cf .  the  grant  authorizing  the  restoration  of  his  pension,  Reg.  of  the  Privy 
Seal  of  Scotland,  March  21,  1588-1589. 

3  Cf.  p.  xxiii.     Buchanan's  De  Jure  Regni,  which  was  in  the  packet,  and 
his  History  were  condemned  by  act  of  Parliament  the  next  year  (Acts  of  the 
Parliaments  of  Scotland,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  296). 

4  Ludovic  landed  at  Leith,  November  13,  1583. 

5  There  seem  to  have  been  two  issues  of  this  volume ;  some  copies  bear 
the  date  1584  and  others  1585. 


XXX 

poetical  experiments  began  as  early  as  isSi.1  Whatever 
the  exact  date,  it  is  clear  that  they  were  carried  on  under  the 
guidance  of  Montgomerie  and  not  of  Buchanan,  who  died 
September  29,  1582,  and  some  time  before  had  ceased  to 
perform  his  duties  as  tutor.  The  King's  reliance  on  the 
master  poet  is  everywhere  traceable  in  both  his  precepts 
and  his  practice. 

To  this  period  may  also  be  assigned  Montgomerie's 
Flyting  with  Polwart,  the  King's  enjoyment  of  which  is 
spoken  of  in  one  of  Montgomerie's  sonnets  (XXVII) :  — 

"Vhose  Highnes  laughed  som  tym  for  to  look 
Hou  I  chaist  Polwart  from  the  chimney  nook." 

The  Flyting  is  true  to  its  uncomely  type,  and  to  modern 
taste  more  grotesquely  coarse  than  either  lascivious  or 
amusing ;  but  it  is  not  necessary  to  make  it  the  chief  index 
of  James's  early  taste  in  poetry  —  he  was  also  the  trans- 
lator of  Du  Bartas's  Uranie,  ou  Muse  Celeste. 

Montgomerie's  poem,  like  the  King's  Admonition  (LI), 
illustrates  the  good-natured  fellowship  which  existed  be- 
tween the  young  monarch  and  his  poetical  familiars.  Cele- 
brations inspired  by  Bacchus  as  well  as  the  Muses  were  not 
infrequent.  Indeed,  from  such  evidence  as  we  can  gather 
—  the  joke  on  Archbishop  Adamson,2  the  boisterous  tone 
of  the  Flyting  and  similar  pieces,  his  final  surrender  to  the 
god  of  wine  3  —  one  pictures  "beloved  Sanders"  as  a  jovial, 
not  altogether  reputable  character  such  as  Scott  would  have 
enjoyed  painting,  gifted  with  intelligence  and  some  genius, 
yet  quite  capable  of  the  role  of  court  jester  or  abbot  of  un- 
reason when  occasion  permitted. 

The  order  of  March  21,  1588-1589,  restoring  Mont- 
gomerie's pension,4  informs  us  that  he  left  Scotland  on  the 
King's  business  in  the  autumn  of  1586,  with  license  to  '?pass 
of  this  realme  to  the  pairtis  of  France,  Flanders,  Spaine, 

1  Stevenson  places  the  Flyting  in  1582,  and  suggests  that  the  King's  Ad- 
monition was  written  not  long  after. 

"  Cf .  XXII,  note.      3  Cf .  XXXIV,  XLV,  and  notes.       4  Cf .  p.  xxix,  note. 


XXXI 

and  otheris  beyond  sey  .  .  .  quheras  he  remanit  continew- 
allie  sensyne,  detaynit  and  halden  in  prison."  His  destina- 
tion and  the  nature  of  his  errand  have  remained  unknown, 
though  the  time,  just  preceding  the  execution  of  Mary 
his  intimacy  with  Constable  and  Keir,  and  references  in  hh. 
sonnets  to  Archbishop  Beaton,  Mary's  representative  hi 
Paris,  show  that  he  was  associated  with  members  of  the 
Catholic  party.  A  hitherto  unnoted  letter  from  T.  Fowler 
to  Archibald  Douglas  in  London,  November  25,  isSS,1 
makes  it  likely  that  his  imprisonment  was  in  England.  The 
given  name  is  again  omitted,  but  the  date  and  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  detention  at  once  connect  the  reference 
with  the  poet.  Fowler's  statement  that  Montgomerie  was 
"unacquainted  with  trouble"  may  be  taken  with  many 
allowances. 

During  his  absence,  his  pension  was  stopped,  and  a  num- 
ber of  his  sonnets  (XIV-XXX) 2  deal  with  his  efforts  by 
legal  proceedings  and  direct  appeal  to  the  King  to  have  it 
restored.  Since  they  were  all  written  during  a  short  period 
and  for  a  special  purpose,  one  can  hardly  draw  a  general 
conclusion  regarding  the  author's  petulant  melancholy  of 
temperament  or  undignified  servility.  His  "real  and  sin- 
cere" passion  for  Lady  Margaret  Montgomerie,  to  whom 
he  addressed  sonnets  at  the  time  of  her  marriage  in  1582, 


1  Cal.  Hatfield  MSS.,  Pt.  Ill,  p.  374.     Fowler  complains  of  the  seizure  of 
his  papers  by  the  English  authorities :   "  Always  if  they  would  deliver  my 
house  and  stuff,  I  shall  be  glad,  and  more  of  Montgomery's  release,  which  I 
beseech  you  to  procure  as  much  as  you  may,  for  he  is  honest  and  not  ac- 
quainted with  trouble,  and  what  they  have  to  say  to  him  God  knows.     I 
wot  not,  but  I  would  gladly  know  whereupon  they  examined  him,  and  what 
he  hath  done  with  my  books."     Fowler  was  an  Englishman  resident  in 
Edinburgh  and  connected  with  the  Lennox  family.     He  was  executor  of 
the  Countess  of  Lennox's  will,  and  was  intrusted  by  Queen  Mary  with  jewels 
intended  for  Lady  Arabella  Stuart.    These  got  into  the  hands  of  James; 
hence,  perhaps,  the  seizure  of  Fowler's  papers. 

2  The  mention  in  one  of  these  sonnets  (XXV)  of  the  poets  Alexander  Scott 
and  Robert  Semple  shows  that  they  were  still  alive  in  1588.    But  Scott,  the 
references  to  whom  as  a  burgess  of  Edinburgh  are  pointed  out  by  T.  F.  Hen- 
derson (Scottish  Vernacular  Lit.,  p.  241),  was  perhaps  also  the  burgess  of  that 
name  mentioned  in  Cal.  S.  P.  Sco.,  July  20,  1591,  who  had  sent  letters  of 
complaint  to  England  regarding  the  debts  of  an  English  agent  in  Edinburgh 


XXX11 

is  also  wholly  mythical,  since  she  was  many  years  his  junior 
and  of  a  higher  social  station.  In  spite  of  the  restoration, 
his  pension  was  still  withheld,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  Mont- 
gomerie  ever  regained  favor  at  court.  James  was  in  Den- 
mark from  October,  1589,  until  May  of  the  next  year,  and 
after  his  return  there  was  another  reordering  and  reduction 
of  his  household. 

The  King's  Epitaphe  (XXXIV)  and  a  second  sonnet 
referring  to  Montgomerie  (XLV)  may  conveniently  be 
considered  at  this  point,  since  they  make  it  highly  probable 
that  the  poet's  death  occurred  before  the  King's  departure 
for  England.  After  1603,  James  wrote  little  verse,  and  could 
hardly  have  spoken  of  the  Scottish  writer  as  "our  maistre 
poete"  and  "the  Prince  of  Poets  of  our  land."  In  the 
Bodleian  MS.,  XLV  occurs  on  one  side  of  a  folio  which 
contains  an  early  paraphrase  of  one  of  the  psalms.1  The 
thirteenth  line  of  the  Epitaphe,  — 

"Though  to  his  buriall  was  refused  the  bell," 

—  shows  that  at  the  time  of  his  death  Montgomerie  was  not 
in  the  good  graces  of  the  clergy.  The  latest  of  other  trust- 
worthy references  to  the  poet  is  a  denunciation,  July  14, 1597, 
of  "Alexander Montgomerie, brother  to  the  laird  of  Heslott," 
for  "arte,  parte"  in  Hugh  Barclay  of  Ladyland's  treason- 
able attempt  to  seize  Ailsa  Craig  as  a  station  for  Spanish 
troops  and  refuge  for  Catholics.2  It  is  perhaps  significant 
as  a  clue  to  the  date  of  his  death  that  the  two  earliest  edi- 
tions of  The  Cherrie  and  the  Sloe  appeared  in  this  year,  from 
different  MSS.,  but  neither  with  any  announcement,  pref- 
ace, or  complimentary  verses  such  as  one  would  expect 
with  the  work  of  a  living  writer.  The  second,  it  is  true, 
was  "Prented  according  to  a  Copie  corrected  by  the  Author 
himself e" ;  but  this  may  refer  to  the  MS.,  and,  according  to 
Mr.  Stevenson,3  the  edition  contains  errors  which  make  it 
hard  to  believe  that  it  was  corrected  by  the  author.  In 

1  Lusus  Regius,  p.  54. 

1  Register  of  the  Privy  Council  of  Scotland  (cf.  Stevenson,  p.  334). 

*  Poems  of  Alexander  Montgomerie,  p.  xvii. 


XXX111 

1615,  a  third  edition  (now  lost)  appeared,  in  which  the  poem 
was  increased  from  930  to  1596  lines.  Since  it  is  generally 
admitted  that  this  edition  came  out  after  the  poet's  death, 
there  is  no  difficulty  in  assuming  the  enlargement  to  have 
been  made  prior  to  1603,  or  even,  for  that  matter,  prior  to 
1597- 


Ill 

OTHER    POETS    IN    THE    SCOTTISH    COURT, 

1584-1603 

"Quique  poetas  claros  sodales  suos  vulgo  vocari  voluit." 

—  DEMPSTER. 

The  publication  of  The  Essay es  of  a  Prentise  in  1584  was 
followed,  it  would  seem,  by  some  slackening  of  the  King's 
interest  in  poetry.  In  the  winter  of  1587  he  was  occupied 
"in  commenting  of  the  Apocalypse  and  in  setting  out  of 
sermontes  thereupon  against  the  Papistes  and  Spainyards," 
though,  as  Melville  adds,  "by  a  piece  of  grait  oversight, 
the  Papists  practised  never  mair  busselie  in  this  land.  .  .  ."  * 
In  the  commentary,  or  Paraphrase  upon  the  Revelation?  the 
author  by  a  scarcely  prosaic  flight  of  fancy  connects  the 
Pope  with  Anti-Christ  and  Catholicism  with  St.  John's 
vision  of  the  beast  with  seven  heads  and  ten  horns.  Ane 
Fruitfull  Meditatioun  on  Revelation  xx.  7-10  appeared  in 
1588,  and  Ane  Meditatioun  on  i  Chronicles  xv.  25-29  in 
1589.' 

These  pursuits  were  pleasantly  interrupted,  however,  by 
the  arrival,  in  May,  1587,*  of  the  French  poet  Du  Bartas, 
whom  the  King  in  a  letter  of  extravagant  flattery  had  in- 
vited to  Scotland  for  the  summer.  Du  Bartas's  popularity 
among  devout  Protestants  was  due  primarily  to  the  highly 
commendable  character  of  his  subject-matter,  drawn  as  it 
was  so  largely  from  the  Bible,  — 

1  Diary,  p.  174. 

*  1616  Folio,  pp.  1-79. 

1  For  full  titles,  dates,  etc.,  cf.  Dickson  and  Edmond,  Annals  of  Scottish 
Printing,  Cambridge,  1890. 

4  Du  Bartas  was  in  London,  May  7,  and  arrived  in  Scotland  about  the 
25th  (Col.  Hatfield  MSS.,  Pt.  Ill,  pp.  253,  260). 

xxxiv 


XXXV 

"That  is  a  home  of  plenty  well  repleat : 
That  is  a  storehouse  riche,  a  learning  seat, 
An  Ocean  hudge,  both  lacking  shore  and  ground, 
Of  heauenly  eloquence  a  spring  profound. 

Let  not  your  art  so  rare  then  be  defylde, 
In  singing  Venus,  and  her  fethered  chylde."  1 

But  his 'fame  must  have  been  greatly  increased  by  the 
influence  of  James,  who  was  one  of  his  earliest  admirers  in 
Scotland  or  England.  The  first  portion  of  his  masterpiece, 
La  Semaine,  ou  Creation  du  Monde  (Paris,  1579),  was  pre- 
sented to  James  by  his  former  nurse  within  a  year  or  two 
of  its  issue,2  and  in  1584  we  find  him  discussing  the  possi- 
bility of  an  adequate  translation.  The  following  passage 
is  from  the  Epistle  Dedicatorie  of  Thomas  Hudson's  trans- 
lation of  Judith : 3  — 

"As  your  Maiestie,  Sir,  after  your  accustomed  and  ver- 
tuous  manner  was  sometime  discoursing  at  Table  with  such 
your  Domestiques  as  chaunced  to  be  attendants ;  It  pleased 
your  Highnesse  not  only  to  esteeme  the  peerless  stile  of  the 
Greeke  Homer,  and  the  Latin  Virgil  to  be  inimitable  to  us 
(whose  tongue  is  barbarous  and  corrupted) :  But  also  to 
alledge  (partly  throu  delite  your  Majesty  tooke  in  the 
Hautie  stile  of  those  most  famous  Writers,  and  partly  to 
sounde  the  opinion  of  others)  that  also  the  loftie  Phrase, 
the  grave  incitement,  the  facound  termes  of  the  French 
Salust  (for  the  like  resemblance)  could  not  be  followed,  nor 
sufficiently  expressed  in  our  rude  and  unpolished  english 
language,  .  .  .  whereupon,  it  pleased  your  Maiestie  (among 
the  rest  of  his  workes)  to  assign  me,  The  Historic  of  Judith, 
as  an  agreeable  Subject  to  your  Highnesse,  to  be  turned  by 
me  into  English  verse." 

During  his  stay  in  Scotland,  Du  Bartas  and  the  King 

1  James's  translation  of  L'Uranie,  ou  Muse  Celeste  of  Du  Bartas,  11. 116-130 
(Essay es  of  a  Prentise). 

2  Warner,  Library  of  James  VI,  p.  xliii. 

8  Hudson's  translation  was  published  at  Edinburgh  in  1584.  It  is  included 
also  in  the  1608  and  later  editions  of  Sylvester. 


XXXVI 

visited  the  University  of  St.  Andrews,  where  James  had  the 
temerity  to  request  a  lecture  from  the  Principal,  Andrew 
Melville  —  the  minister  who  later  twitched  his  sovereign  by 
the  arm  and  reminded  him  that  he  as  only  "God's  silliew 
vassal."  Melville  spoke  offhand  "of  the  right  government 
of  Chryst,  and  in  effect  refuted  the  haill  Actes  of  Parlia- 
ment maid  against  the  discipline  thairof,  to  the  grait  in- 
struction of  his  auditor,  except  the  king  allean,  who  was 
verie  angrie  all  that  night."  The  next  day  he  had  so  far 
recovered  as  to  partake  of  "a  bankett  of  wett  and  dry 
confections.  .  .  .  wherat  His  Maiestie  camped  verie  mer- 
relie  a  guid  whyll."  x  On  his  guest's  departure  in  Septem- 
ber, James  gave  him  "a  chaine  of  1000  crowns,  made  him 
knight,  and  accompanied  him  to  the  sea  side,  where  he 
made  him  promise  to  return  again."  2  The  French  poet 
repaid  these  honors  by  a  translation  of  the  King's  Lepanto, 
with  a  fulsome  preface  and  dedicatory  sonnet.  This  is 
printed  with  the  original  and  the  King's  translation  of  Du 
Bartas's  Furies  in  the  Exercises  at  vacant  houres? 

Two  years  later,  a  second  political  visitor  arrived  in 
Scotland,  just  at  the  time  when  the  King,  alone  at  Craig- 
millar  Castle,  was  eagerly  awaiting  the  arrival  of  his  bride 
from  Denmark,  and  easing  his  restless  mind  by  penning 
songs  and  sonnets.4  This  was  the  English  poet  Henry 
Constable,  whose  appearance  in  Scotland  at  this  time  is 
indicated  by  evidence  both  in  his  own  poems  and  in  con- 
temporary documents.  On  October  20,  1589,  T.  Fowler 
wrote  Burleigh  that  " Roger  Dalton  [Aston?]  is  exceeding 
great  with  young  Constable  and  hath  brought  him  to  secret 
conference  sundry  times  with  Victor  [James].  He  hath 
commission  from  Ernestus  [Essex]  and  from  Rialta  and 
Richardo  [Lady  and  Lord  Riche]."  5  His  errand  in  Scot- 
land, as  the  letter  states,  was  to  secure  the  King's  friend- 

1 J.  Melville's  Diary,  p.  170. 

2  Extracts  from  the  Despatches  of  M.  Courcelles,  Bann.  Club,  p.  80. 

*  Printed  also  as  a  separate  leaflet  of  14  pages,  La  Lepanthe  de  Jaques  I, 
Walde-grave,  Edinburgh,  1591. 

4  Cf.  note  on  the  Amatoria,  pp.  69-71. 

•  Col.  Hatfield  MSS.,  Pt.  Ill,  p.  438. 


XXXV11 

ship  for  Lady  Arabella  Stuart,  and  no  doubt  had  some  con- 
nection also  with  the  royal  marriage,  which  had  been  ar- 
ranged for  September  29,  and  for  which  a  masque  and 
masquers  had  been  sent  to  Scotland  by  Elizabeth.1  It  may 
be  remembered  that,  from  1584  on,  Constable  was  an  active 
Catholic  messenger  both  at  home  and  abroad.  By  No- 
vember 2,  he  was  back  again  in  London,  where  he  was  ad- 
dressed by  Robert  Douglas  in  a  friendly  letter  of  that  date 
from  Edinburgh  referring  to  the  King's  regard  for  him 
and  to  a  manuscript  of  his  poems.2 

Among  Constable's  sonnets  are  a  series  of  four  addressed 
to  James,  —  the  first  "to  the  King  of  Scots,  whome  as  yet 
he  has  not  seen,"  the  second  "touching  the  subject  of  his 
poems,  dedicated  wholie  to  heavenly  matters,"  the  third 
"upon  occasion  of  a  Sonnet  the  King  wrote  in  complaint 
of  a  contrarie  [wind]  which  hindred  the  arrivall  of  the 
Queene  out  of  Denmark,"  and  the  fourth  "upon  occasion 
of  his  long  stay  in  Denmark,  by  reason  of  the  coldnesse 
of  the  winter,  and  freezing  of  the  sea."  3  The  dates  of 
these  compositions  are  fixed  by  the  fact  that  the  news  of 
the  storm  and  Anne's  delay  reached  Scotland  September 
15,  1589,  and  the  king  left  on  October  22,  to  seek  his  be- 
trothed in  person. 

If  the  Constable  mentioned  in  Montgomerie's  sonnet 
(p.  xxviii)  was  the  poet,  one  may  suppose  the  meeting  of  the 
two  writers  to  have  taken  place  at  this  time,  or  perhaps 
earlier  during  Montgomerie's  stay  in  London.  The  pos- 
sibility of  their  friendship  is  increased  by  the  fact  that 
Constable's  sonnet  beginning,  — 

"Thine  eye,  the  glasse  where  I  behold  my  heart," 

appears  in  slightly  altered  form  among  the  Drummond  MS. 
poems  of  Montgomerie.4 

1  Collier,  Annals  of  the  Stage,  Vol.  I,  p.  290. 

2  Cal.  Hatfield  MSS.,  Pt.  Ill,  p.  442. 

3  Diana:  Sonnets  and  other  Poems  of  Henry  Constable,  ed.  W.  C.  Hazlitt, 
London,  1859,  pp.  33-35. 

4  The  original  authorship  of  the  sonnet  must  be  conceded  to  Constable, 
since  it  is  an  integral  part  of  the  series  of  nine  "arguments"  of  seven  sonnets 


XXXV111 

Constable's  later  visits  to  Scotland  are  more  fully  re- 
corded in  the  state  papers  of  the  period,  and  have  in  part 
been  noted  by  his  biographers.  In  December,  1595,  the 
Earl  of  Errol  gave  a  book  to  the  King,  at  which  the  King 
was  offended,  and  which  Quin,  an  Irish  poet  in  the  court, 
ascribed  to  Constable.1  Colville  refers  to  it  as  a  seditious 
book  in  favor  of  Spain.  In  March,  1599,  Constable  him- 
self arrived  in  Scotland  and  offered  his  services  to  the  King, 
but  was  refused  an  audience  and  forced  to  account  for  him- 
self before  the  Lords  of  the  Session.2  Later  he  is  described 
as  an  agent  of  the  Pope  accompanying  the  Lord  of  Boniton, 
and  on  September  22  about  to  return  to  France.3  In  April, 
1600,  he  sent  the  King  news  from  Aragon,  apparently  as 
his  paid  correspondent,  and  in  July  of  the  same  year  a  book 
which  he  had  written,  but  which  at  this  late  date  could 
hardly  have  been,  as  Mr.  Sidney  Lee  infers,4  a  copy  of 
Diana.  After  the  death  of  Elizabeth  he  ventured  to  return 
from  the  Continent  to  England,  and  April  28,  1604,  was 
"a  few  days  ago  imprisoned  "  for  writing  to  the  Papal  Nuncio 
in  France  stating  that  "the  King  had  no  religion  at  all  and 
that  everything  he  did  was  governed  by  political  expedi- 
ency." 5  In  August  following,  the  Venetian  Secretary 
wrote  that  Constable  had  been  released  from  the  Tower 
and  confined  to  his  own  house.6  Little  is  known  of  his 
career  from  this  time  until  his  death  abroad  in  1613. 

Both  Constable  and  Montgomerie  contributed  laudatory 
sonnets  to  the  first  editions  of  the  King's  poems,  the  former 
to  the  Exercises  at  vacant  houres  of  1591,  and  the  latter  to 
the  Essayes  of  a  Prentise.  Other  more  or  less  literary  figures 
who  enjoyed  the  King's  favor  were  permitted  similar  dis- 

each  into  which  the  Diana  sequence  is  divided,  and  since  it  occurs  in  the 
Todd  MS.  of  1590  and  among  the  twenty-three  sonnets  of  the  first  edition  of 
1592.  Montgomerie's  version  is  a  re- working  of  Constable's  in  the  Scottish 
dialect,  with  the  object,  perhaps,  as  Brotanek  suggests,  of  avoiding  the 
rhyme-in-terms  (come-become)  which  the  Reulis  and  cautelis  condemns,  and 
which  occurs  but  once  in  Montgomerie's  poems.  Cf.  Brotanek's  study  of 
Montgomerie,  Wiener  Beitriige,  Vol.  III. 

1  Col.  S.  P.  Sco.,  p.  702.  *  Diet.  Nat.  Biog.,  under  Constable. 

2  Ibid.,  pp.  773,  776.  B  Cal.  S.  P.  Venetian,  1603-1605,  No.  213. 
*Ibid.,  pp.  781,  784.   ;      .        *Ibid.,  No.  259. 


XXXIX 

tinction.  Their  names  are  indicated  in  the  Essayes  by  the 
subscribed  initials  T.  H.,  R.  H.,  M.  W.,  M.  W.  F.,  and  A.  M., 
which  have  been  identified,  the  first  two  with  the  brothers 
Thomas  and  Robert  Hudson,  the  fourth  with  Master 
William  Fowler,  and  the  last  with  Montgomerie.  The 
third  initials,  M.  W.,  may  indicate  Master  William  (Fowler), 
or  possibly,  by  transposition,  William  Murray,  one  of 
the  King's  four  valets  of  the  chamber,  whom  Montgomerie 
addresses  as  "belovit  brother"  l  in  a  friendly  sonnet  from 
London.  The  poems  of  1591  are  greeted  by  Fowler,  Con- 
stable, and  Henry  Lok  (or  Locke),  and  in  Greek  and  Lathi 
verses  by  Hadrian  Damman.  Locke  and  Constable  were 
Englishmen,  the  one  of  Puritan  sympathies  and  the  other 
a  Catholic,  and  Damman  was  a  native  of  Flanders. 

The  lives  of  these  gentlemen  are  less  worthy  of  note  for 
their  own  sake  than  as  an  indication  of  the  King's  literary 
intercourse  and  the  culture  of  his  Scottish  court.  The 
Hudsons  belonged  to  a  family  of  four  brothers,  of  English 
descent,2  who  were  musicians  to  the  King  in  his  earliest 
childhood.  They  are  mentioned  in  the  first  Establishment 
of  the  Household,3  in  March,  1567,  as  "Violaris:  Mekill 
Thomas  Hudsoun,  Robert  Hudsoun,  James  Hudsoun,4 
William  Hudsoun";  and  in  the  reorganized  household  of 
1591  they  hold  the  same  offices,  with  the  privilege  of  a 
table  to  themselves  at  meals.5  Thomas  was  appointed 
Master  of  the  Chapel  Royal,  June  5,  1586,  and  was  con- 
tinued in  the  position  by  acts  of  Parliament  in  1587  and 
again  in  I592.6  In  Allott's  England's  Parnassus  (1600),  he 

1  Sonnet  LXV,  S.  T.  S.  edition.  Cf.  also  James's  "William  Mow,"  LI,  112, 
and  note. 

2  For  evidence  of  their  nationality,  cf.  XXVI,  4,  and  note. 

*  G.  Chalmers,  Life  of  Mary  Queen  of  Scots,  Philadelphia,  1822,  p.  135. 

4  James  Hudson  was  recommended  to  Elizabeth  by  the  King  in  a  letter 
dated  April  24,  1583  (S.  P.  Sco.),  and  from  this  time  on  was  employed  as  an 
agent  and  correspondent  either  of  James  or  Cecil.  The  Venetian  Secretary 
speaks  of  him  as  the  King's  "Envoy  in  Ordinary"  in  London.  (5.  P.  Ven., 
April  24,  1603).  He  was  afterward  appointed  a  groom  of  the  chamber  with 
a  pension  of  £120  (Record  Office,  Docquets,  April  i,  1604). 

6  Papers  relative  to  the  Marriage  of  King  James,  Bann.  Club,  App.  II,  p.  33. 

8  Acts  of  the  Parliaments  of  Scotland,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  489,  563. 


xl 

was  honored,  together  with  his  royal  master,  by  a  surpris- 
ingly large  number  of  selections,  forty-seven  in  all  and 
amounting  to  392  lines,  taken  from  his  translation  of  Judith. 
He  is  also  included,  with  the  King  and  Locke,  in  the  list  of 
forty  or  more  contributors  to  Bodenham's  Belvedere,  or 
The  Garden  of  the  Muses,  published  in  the  same  year.  The 
first  of  these  collections  contains  some  distinguished  verse, 
but  Hudson's,  it  must  be  admitted,  is  of  a  type  to  warrant 
the  disparaging  remarks  about  "crows  and  kestrels"  in 
The  Return  from  Parnassus  of  1602.  In  this  satire,  both  he 
and  Locke  are  advised  to  sleep  quiet  "among  the  shavings 
of  the  press,  and  let  your  books  lie  in  some  old  nooks  among 
old  boots  and  shoes,  so  you  may  avoid  my  censure."  l  The 
verse  of  his  which  has  survived  consists  of  an  epitaph  on 
Sir  Richard  Maitland2  (d.  1586),  prefatory  sonnets  for 
James's  poems  and  for  Fowler's  Triumphs  of  Petrarch,  and 
The  History  of  Judith?  translated  from  Du  Bartas  and 
published  in  Edinburgh,  1584.  Robert  Hudson  wrote 
sonnets  on  the  same  themes  as  his  brother,  and  is  addressed 
by  Montgomerie  in  a  series  of  four  sonnets  (XXV-XXIX) 
which  are  really  a  single  poem  seeking  his  assistance  at 
court. 

Fowler's  Triumphs  of  Petrarch,  just  mentioned,  was  writ- 
ten, like  Hudson's  Judith,  at  the  request  of  the  King, 
and  is  preserved  in  manuscript,  with  a  sonnet  sequence 
entitled  The  Tarantula  of  Love,  in  the  Edinburgh  Univer- 
sity Library.4  The  title  "P.  of  Hawicke,"  which  is  given 
Fowler  in  the  MS.,  is  explained  by  an  entry  in  the  Records 
of  the  Burgh  of  Edinburgh,  May  29,  1589,  to  the  effect  that 
"William  Fowler,  persoun  of  Hawick"  had  been  appointed 

temple  Dramatists  edition,  London,  1905,  I,  ii,  11.  56,  147-155.  The 
editor  follows  W.  C.  Hazlitt  in  describing  Locke  and  Hudson  as  "satirists  of 
the  time  ...  the  Bavius  and  Maevius  of  that  age."  They  were  poets 
minimi,  but  not  satirists. 

2  This,  with  Robert's  epitaph  and  other  sonnets  probably  of  the  same  au- 
thorship, is  in  Pinkerton's  Ancient  Scottish  Poems,  Vol.  II,  p.  350  ff. 

1  "At  your  owne  commandement  enterprised,  corrected  by  your 
Maiest.  owne  hande,  and  dedicated  to  your  owne  Highnesse."  —  Epistle 
dedicatorie. 

4  For  a  description  of  the  MS.,  cf.  XXLX, 


xli 

by  the  Council  to  accompany  the  Ambassador  Peter  Young 
to  Denmark  —  perhaps  to  discover  the  true  religion  of  the 
Princess  Anne,  or  to  watch  the  expenditure  of  the  ten  thou- 
sand pounds  borrowed  from  the  city  for  the  journey.  The 
term  parson  is  used  in  contemporary  documents  to  indicate 
a  layman  appointed  to  a  religious  benefice ;  and  since  Fow- 
ler's name  does  not  occur  elsewhere  in  church  records,  it  is  to 
be  supposed  that  he  held  the  living  merely  for  its  revenue. 
A  William  Fowler,  who  may  have  been  either  the  poet  or 
a  son  of  Thomas  Fowler,1  acted  as  an  agent  of  Walsingham's 
in  1582  and  1583,  and  in  this  capacity  accompanied  the 
Duke  of  Lennox  (d'Aubigny)  on  his  departure  from  Scot- 
land. In  a  letter  of  Fowler's,  d'Aubigny  is  quoted  as  saying 
that  "your  mother's  house  was  the  first  I  entered,  on  coming 
to  Scotland,  and  the  last  I  quitted  on  leaving  the  country."  2 
This  statement  is  explained,  perhaps,  by  the  fact  that  a 
Fowler  is  mentioned  as  a  servant  of  the  Lennox  family  as 
early  as  1565,  and  by  evidence  that  their  house  hi  Edin- 
burgh was  sometimes  used  for  banquets 3  or  for  the  enter- 
tainment of  noble  guests.  William  later  became  secretary 
to  Queen  Anne,  and  as  assistant  to  Sir  Patrick  Lesley  was 
chief  contriver  of  the  celebration  at  Prince  Henry's  baptism  4 
(July  1 6,  1594),  an  account  of  which  he  afterward  published. 
He  went  to  England  in  the  Queen's  service,  and  held  his 
secretaryship  until  1612,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Sir 
Robert  Aytoun.5  The  mother  of  William  Drummond  of 
Hawthornden  was  Fowler's  sister,  and  his  father  was  also 
of  the  court  as  one  of  the  King's  gentlemen  ushers.6  In 
Scotland,  and  later  in  England,  the  young  poet  must  have 

1  Cf.  p.  xxxi,  note. 

2  Tytler,  History  of  Scotland,  ed.  1866,  Vol.  VIII,  p.  127. 

3  Cal.  S.  P.  Sco.,  May  22,  1589. 

4  Letters  of  Col-wile,  Bann.  Club,  p.  112.     For  reference  to  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  ceremonies,  cf.  LIV,  48,  note. 

6  Cf .  p.  Ixxiv.  According  to  Masson  (William  Drummond  of  Hawthornden, 
London,  1873,  p.  31),  Fowler  died  in  1614.  For  the  attempts  of  Donne  to 
secure  the  reversion  of  his  office,  cf.  p.  Ixv. 

8  Nichols,  Progresses  of  James,  Vol.  II,  p.  263,  inserts  an  order  on  the 
town  of  Southampton  for  royal  guards,  presented  by  Sir  John  Drummond, 
Gentleman  Usher,  August  4,  1609. 


xlii 

seen  much  of  his  uncle,  and  may  have  been  led  to  the  pur- 
suit of  literature  by  his  influence.  Fowler's  verse,1  together 
with  the  shorter  poems  of  Montgomerie,  came  into  the 
possession  of  Drummond  and  was  preserved  in  his  library. 
Henry  Locke,  the  last  of  the  prefatory  sonneteers,  was  a 
poet  of  slightly  greater  prominence.  Bodenham,  for  his 
quotations  from  Locke  in  Belvedere,  probably  used  the 
volume  of  friendly  and  devotional  sonnets  "by  H.  L.  Gentle- 
man"2 which  was  licensed  for  publication  in  1593,  and 
issued  again  in  1597  with  a  number  of  scriptural  para- 
phrases under  the  title  of  "  Ecclesiastes,  otherwise  called 
The  Preacher  —  Whereunto  are  annexed  sundrie  sonets  of 
a  feeling  conscience  of  the  same  authors."  Dr.  Grosart, 
in  his  reprint  of  a  part  of  this  volume,3  includes  the  sonnet 
printed  in  the  Exercises  at  vacant  houres  (wrongly  referred 
to  as  The  Essayes  of  a  Prentise)  and  if  in  his  introductory 
biography  he  had  followed  up  this  clue,  he  might  have 
shown  that  the  greater  part  of  Locke's  life  was  spent  as  an 
envoy  or  political  intelligencer.  He  was  engaged  in  this 
service  as  early  as  i58i,4  but  it  was  not  until  ten  years 
later  5  that  he  was  sent  to  Scotland  to  help  carry  out  Eliza- 
beth's ingenious  and  persistent  policy  of  setting  Scottish 
lords  against  their  king.  His  letters  show  that  his  activi- 
ties continued  intermittently  until  1602.  His  intrigues 

1  Two  sonnets  by  Fowler  and  a  number  of  his  letters  are  found  in  Nichols, 
Progresses,  Vol.  I,  pp.  251,  261,  etc.    The  verses  have  the  headings,  Sonnet 
uppon  a  Horloge  of  the  Clock  at  Sir  George  Mare's,  1603,  and  To  Lady  Arabella 
Stuart.    Fowler's  letters  to  the  Earl  and  Lady  Shrewsbury  indicate  con- 
tinued devotion  to  the  Lennox  family  and  a  hand  in  the  Lady  Arabella's 
match-making,  but  not,  as  Disraeli  (quoted  by  Nichols)  supposes,  a  desire  to 
present  himself  to  the  King's  cousin  as  a  suitor. 

2  In  Bodenham's  list  of  contributors  (cf.  p.  Ivi),  Locke,  Constable,  and 
Churchyard  are  the  only  ones  distinguished  by  the  title  "  Esq." 

8  Miscellanies  of  the  Fuller  Worthies'  Library,  1871,  Vol.  II.  The  article 
on  Locke  in  Diet.  Nat.  Biog.  is  based  chiefly  on  Grosart's  introduction. 

*  Cat.  S.  P.  For.,  1580-1581. 

5  Cal.  Hatfield  MSS.,  Pt.  IV,  p.  in,  R.  Douglas  to  A.  Douglas,  May  18, 
1591 :  Locke  "has  been  in  these  parts  .  .  .  half  a  year  and  more  .  .  .  and  his 
majesty  and  the  queen  have  conceived  no  little  opinion  of  his  honest  behavior, 
so  that  they  would  willingly  employ  him  in  their  service."  Cf.  Cal.  S.  P. 
Sco.,  for  Locke's  correspondence  between  May,  1591,  and  February,  1602. 


xliii 

with  Bothwell  and  with  the  latter's  fellow-plotter,  John 
Colville  —  who  nearly  always  addresses  Locke  as  "  be- 
loved brother"  —  sufficiently  explain  his  loss  of  employ- 
ment after  1603,  and  his  vain  appeals  to  Cecil  from  Gate- 
house and  the  Clink. 

It  is  not  perhaps  too  much  to  assume  that  the  men  whose 
lives  have  been  outlined  —  at  least  Montgomerie,  Fowler, 
and  the  Hudsons  —  were  among  the  King's  most  intimate 
companions  in  his  youth.  He  matured  early,  and  was  busy 
in  statecraft  and  intrigue  before  most  young  noblemen  of 
his  age  were  free  from  their  tutors  and  about  the  court. 
The  nobility  who  surrounded  him  were  not  only  older,  but 
raw  and  reckless,  involved  in  feuds  among  themselves  and 
in  "  bands  "  against  the  crown.  Scarcely  one  of  them  could 
be  fully  trusted.  But  the  members  of  his  household  he  had 
known  from  childhood,  and  while  they  were  his  servants 
and  likely  to  treat  him  with  deference,  James  was  not  one 
who  let  rank  stand  in  the  way  of  familiarity.  Though  The 
Essayes  of  a  Prentise  appeared  without  his  name  on  the 
title-page,  its  authorship  was  obvious,  and  we  should  expect 
it  to  have  been  welcomed  by  a  more  impressive  array  of 
sonneteers,  if  James  could  have  found  noblemen  willing 
to  humor  his  literary  bent  or  capable  of  penning  a  sonnet, 
and  if  he  had  not  wished  to  give  his  fellow-experimenters 
an  opportunity  to  see  themselves  in  print. 

Not  much,  to  be  sure,  can  be  said  for  the  characters  of 
these  literary  friends.  Most  of  them  were  capable  of 
playing  a  double  part  and  turning  their  friendship  to  profit. 
But  they  were  men  of  culture  and  travel,  who  could  bring 
the  King  in  touch  with  England  and  the  Continent.  Sev- 
eral of  them  were  envoys  either  of  the  King  or  of  foreign 
powers,  and  the  circumstance  helps  to  explain  the  rapidity 
with  which  literary  tendencies  passed  from  one  country  to 
another  in  this  period.  It  is  clear,  also,  that  scholarship  was 
considered  a  key  to  royal  favor.  Foreign  governments 
recognized  this  in  their  choice  of  representatives ;  such  men 
as  Du  Bartas,  Sir  Edward  and  Sir  Henry  Wotton,  Sir  Robert 
Sidney,  Constable,  and  Locke,  all  of  whom  visited  Scotland, 


xliv 

may  well  have  been  selected  with  an  eye  to  the  King's 
tastes.  The  King's  Scottish  favorites  were  men  of  culture. 
Lennox,  the  earliest,  was  a  courtier  of  polish  and  address. 
The  Maitlands,  father  and  sons,  were  possessed  of  literary 
talents  rare  enough  in  the  Scotland  of  that  day.  Sir  James, 
the  Chancellor,  "had  intellect,"  writes  Mr.  Lang,  "which 
[to  the  nobles]  was  intolerable."  l  The  Master  of  Gray 
was  a  Latin  poet  and  friend  of  Sidney.  Even  Arran,  whom 
the  King  liked  though  he  did  not  trust,  was  a  scholar  and 
man  of  parts,  though  a  rascal.  "Avec  du  grec,"  wrote 
Hunsdon,  "on  ne  peut  gater  rien."  2 

The  King's  time  in  these  years,  according  to  Colville, 
was  divided  between  hunting  and  poetry,  "in  one  or  both 
of  which  he  commonly  spendeth  the  day." 3  One  can 
imagine  far  less  profitable  occupations  in  rainy  weather  and 
on  winter  nights  around  the  fire.  James,  it  is  true,  was  not 
much  of  a  poet,  nor  could  he  have  been  if  he  had  had  friends 
who  were  more  capable  of  leading  the  way,  but  he  had  at 
least  the  quick  and  fertile  mind  of  a  good  talker.  At  his 
meals,  writes  Walton  later,  there  were  "deep  discourses" 
and  "friendly  disputes."4  Sir  John  Harington  pleased 
him  as  "a  merry  blade,"  but  also  for  his  fund  of  "learned 
discourse."  5  When  James  left  Scotland  in  the  hands  of  the 
Presbyterian  clergy,  the  beginnings  of  the  new  poetry  were 
soon  lost  in  the  concentration  of  interest  in  a  sincere  but 
unlovely  religion,  and  verse  was  left  for  recluses  such  as 
Drummond  or  Scotsmen  in  the  English  court.  The  throne 
of  the  latter  country  might  have  been  ascended,  on  the  death 
of  Glorianna,  by  a  monarch  less  auspicious  for  literature 
than  James  I.  And  if,  as  Dr.  McCrie  has  somewhere 
suggested,  a  proper  fate  would  have  been  to  force  the  King 
to  live  by  his  sonnets,  he  would  have  fared  very  badly  in 
seventeenth-century  Scotland.  « 

1  History  of  Scotland,  Vol.  II,  p.  345. 

2  Letter  to  Burleigh,  ibid.,  p.  309. 
*  Letters,  Bann.  Club,  p.  316. 

4  Life  of  Donne,  ed.  1901,  p.  207. 
6  NugcE  Antiques,  ed.  Park,  p.  391. 


IV 

THE  KING'S  VERSE  AND   CRITICISM 

"For  such  a  poet,  while  thy  days  were  green, 
Thou  wert,  as  chief  of  them  are  said  t'  have  been." 

—  JONSON. 

The  discussion  of  the  King's  theory  and  practice  of  poetry 
is  made  appropriate  at  this  point  by  the  fact  that  most  of 
his  verse,  as  he  remarks  in  the  preface  to  the  Exercises  at 
vacant  houres,  was  written  in  his  "verie  young  and  tender 
yeares :  wherein  nature,  (except  shee  were  a  monster)  can 
admit  no  perfection."  All  of  his  poems,  save  three  or  four 
sonnets  and  the  revisions  of  his  early  paraphrases  of  the 
psalms,  belong  to  the  period  of  his  reign  in  Scotland ;  and 
the  greater  portion  of  them  were  composed  either  before 
the  publication  of  the  first  volume  of  his  poems  in  his  nine- 
teenth year,  or  in  the  time  of  romantic  enthusiasm  excited 
by  his  marriage. 

With  this  early  verse  should  be  connected  the  translations 
and  sonnets  of  Montgomerie,  Fowler,  and  the  Hudsons,  the 
whole  representing  an  attempt,  feeble  indeed  and  abortive, 
to  introduce  new  fashions  of  poetry  into  Scotland.  In  the 
little  group  which  surrounded  the  King,  there  were  frequent 
discussions  of  literary  themes.  Translations  and  para- 
phrases were  planned  and  carried  out.  There  were  sym- 
posiums in  which  the  excellence  of  the  classical  writers  was 
considered,  and  the  desirability  of  making  it  known  to  the 
"facound"  wits  of  Scotland.1 

1  Cf .  the  quotation  from  Hudson,  p.  xxxv.  Doubtless  these  dinner-table 
conversations  were  a  development  from  the  devotional  reading  which  had 
accompanied  his  repasts  from  the  time  of  his  childhood.  In  an  account  of 
The  Present  State  of  Scotland,  1586  (Roy.  Hist.  Soc.,  Vol.  II,  p.  262),  it  is 
recorded  that  there  was  a  "chapter  of  the  bible  read  with  some  exposition 
after  each  meal." 

xlv 


xlvi 

The  manifesto  of  this  minor  Areopagus  was  the  Reulis 
and  cautelis  to  be  observit  and  eschewit  in  Scottis  Poesie,1 
and  its  sources  and  contents  require  first  attention  in  a 
review  of  their  work.  "Sindrie  hes  written  of  it  [the  art 
of  poetry]  in  English,"  says  James  vaguely,  in  the  preface ; 
but  his  indebtedness  to  Gascoigne's  excellent  Notes  of 
Instruction  (1575)  is  obvious  on  every  page.  The  King 
and  his  guide  in  the  art  simply  appropriated  from  the  Eng- 
lish treatise,  after  the  fashion  of  border  reivers,  making 
adroit  and  somewhat  disingenuous  changes  in  order  and 
phrasing,  and  adding  or  omitting  as  their  tastes  and  the 
peculiarities  of  Scottish  prosody  suggested.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  debt  to  French  criticism  is  surprisingly  slight, 
and  confined  to  observations  which  are  among  the  common- 
places of  criticism  early  and  late.  Thus  in  his  discussion 
of  invention,  and  of  art  vs.  nature  (Preface  and  Chapter 
VII)  James  is  closer  to  Horace  2  than  to  Ronsard ;  and  in 
this  and  other  matters  he  may  owe  something  to  the  Uranie 
of  Du  Bartas,  his  translation  of  which  is  in  the  same  vol- 
ume with  the  Reulis.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Defense  of 
Du  Bellay  and  the  Abrege  de  I' Art  poetique  of  Ronsard 
give  scant  attention  to  elementary  matters  of  metrical 
technique,  and  it  is  with  these  that  James  is  chiefly 
concerned. 

When  James  warns  poets  to  avoid  matters  of  the  com- 
monweal, which  "are  to  grave  materis  for  a  Poet  to  mell 
in,"  he  is  doubtless  speaking  from  his  experiences  with  the 
verse  satirists  of  the  Kirk  party  in  Scotland.  In  other 
divergences  from  Gascoigne,  the  influence  of  Montgomerie 
is  generally  conspicuous.  While  Gascoigne  would  not  have 
a  poet  "hunt  the  letter  to  death,"  James  would  use  allit- 
eration freely,  and  quotes  in  illustration  a  line  from  Mont- 
gomerie's  highly  alliterative  Flyting.  His  recognition  of 
proverbs,  also,  as  one  of  the  three  special  ornaments  of 

1  The  best  edition  is  in  Elizabethan  Critical  Essays,  Vol.  I,  pp.  208-225. 
Professor  Smith's  notes  indicate  with  sufficient  fullness  the  debt  to  English 
and  French  criticism. 

2Cf.  De  Arte  Poetica:  "  Praestantissima  est  in  omni  arte,  natura,  et 
poetam  non  tarn  fieri,  quam  nasci  sermone  eruditorum  dicitur." 


xlvii 

verse,  is  doubtless  suggested  by  their  frequent  occurrence 
in  the  writings  of  the  "master  poet."  James  is,  I  think,  the 
only  Elizabethan  critic  who  explicitly  condemns  "rhymes- 
in-terms"  (e.g.  prove  .  .  .  disprove),  and  it  is  notable  that 
the  fault  occurs  but  once  in  Montgomerie's  poems  and  twice 
in  his  own  (sonnets  XXXIV  and  XXXVI).  In  all  of  these 
respects  the  practice  of  James  conspicuously  resembles  that 
of  the  older  poet.  Of  the  quotations  in  the  Reulis,  three 
are  from  the  author's  own  works,  three  unidentified,  and 
seven  from  Montgomerie. 

An  examination  of  the  treatise  *  shows  that  the  King, 
as  an  apprentice  in  the  divine  art,  is  interested  not  so  much 
in  the  high  purposes  of  poetry  as  in  details  of  verse-making 
and  diction.  While  it  is  not  enough,  it  is  still  his  chief 
concern  that  a  poem  shall  "flow  well,  with  many  pretie 
wordes."  In  matters  of  technique  he  prefers  the  definite 
and  positive  rule.  The  cesura  must  fall  in  the  middle  and 
must  follow  an  accented  syllable;  there  must  be  a  pause 
at  the  end  of  every  line ;  weak  endings,  faulty  rhymes,  mis- 
placed accents  are  to  be  avoided.  On  all  these  points  he 
is  a  stickler  for  metrical  propriety.  In  his  practice,  though 
he  cannot  strictly  obey  his  precepts,  he  is  reasonably  cor- 
rect. But  one  of  his  sonnets  contains  more  than  five 
rhymes,  albeit  the  difficulty  of  the  scheme  often  contorts  his 
syntax  and  renders  his  phrasing  grotesque.  While  it  is 
true  that  the  Reulis  and  cautelis  was  the  work  of  his  boy- 
hood, and  was  written  at  a  time  when  the  confusion  of 
poetic  standards  made  dogmatism  desirable,  while  the 
scantiness  of  contemporary  poetry  made  the  establishment 

1  The  most  interesting  portion  of  the  Reulis  is  Chap.  VIII,  "tuiching  the 
kyndis  of  versis."  His  application  there  of  the  term  verse  heroicall  to  a  stanza 
of  nine  lines,  aab,  aab,  bab,  may  explain  Ludovick  Briskett's  statement, 
before  1589,  that  The  Faerie  Queene  was  written  in  heroicall  verse  (Spenser, 
Globe  ed.,  p.  xxxiv).  His  condemnation  of  the  iambic  pentameter,  or 
heroic  couplet,  as  "ryme  quhilk  servis  onely  for  lang  historeis,  and  yit  are 
nocht  verse,"  may  perhaps  be  traced  to  Montgomerie's  avoidance  of  the 
metre,  or  to  Ronsard's  remark  that  he  preferred  the  Alexandrine,  though  he 
wrote  La  Franqiade  in  pentameter  at  the  desire  of  the  King  (Preface  to  La 
Franqiade.  (Euvres,  ed.  Marty-Lavaux,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  516;  and  cf.  Abrege, 
Vol.  VI,  p.  455). 


xlviii 

of  final  principles  impossible,  it  is  nevertheless  quite  likely 
that  the  King  retained  in  later  years  his  early  precisian 
views.  He  had  at  least  this  trait  of  the  pedant  that  he  was 
fond  of  formulating  principles  and  sticking  to  them  regard- 
less of  facts  or  consequences,  as  may  easily  be  seen  by  noting 
the  conformity  of  many  of  the  doctrines  in  the  Basilikon 
Down  to  the  actual  conduct  of  his  government.  Further- 
more, Scottish  versemen,  from  the  northern  Chaucerians  to 
Drummond  and  even  later,  were  more  conscientious  and 
often  more  successful  metricians  than  their  English  con- 
temporaries, and  Montgomerie,  the  King's  mentor,  was 
especially  adept.  In  the  case  of  James,  one  may  see  the 
trend  of  his  taste  not  only  by  his  practice,  but  by  his  Sonnet 
on  Sir  William  Alexander's  Harshe  Verses  after  the  Ingliche 
Fasone  (XL VI)  and  by  his  liking  for  Forth  Feasting,  the 
most  correct  of  Drummond's  polished  verse.  Whatever  his 
direct  influence,  the  King's  tastes  were  on  the  side  of  formal 
accuracy.1 

In  turning  to  the  King's  actual  accomplishment  in  verse, 
the  early  date  of  most  of  it  should  be  borne  in  mind,  and 
the  fact  that  it  was  written  when  the  influence  of  the  old 
native  poetry  was  nearly  dead  in  Scotland,  and  when  the 
new  lyric  impulse  from  abroad  was  just  beginning  to  make  it- 
self felt.  James  corresponds  in  Scotland  to  the  Elizabethan 
tentatives  of  the  sixties,  seventies,  and  eighties;  and  his 
amatory  lyrics  are  not  on  a  much  lower  level  than  the  "fra- 
grant flowers,"  "pleasant  delites,"  and  "daynty  devises" 
which  represent  the  average  of  the  miscellanies  from  Tot- 
teVs  to  the  Phoenix  Nest  of  1583.  It  is  a  mistake  to  think 

1  A  less  elementary  discussion  of  style  in  verse  and  prose  occurs  in  the 
Basilikon  Doron,  where  it  has  attracted  less  attention,  though  parts  of  it  are 
quoted  in  Mr.  Rail's  introduction  to  the  volume  entitled  A  Royal  Rhetorician, 
London,  1900.  The  chief  points  in  James's  remarks  are  that  prose  should 
be  plain  and  short,  but  stately ;  that  one's  work  should  be  passed  to  others 
for  criticism;  that  a  poem  should  be  "so  rich  in  quicke  inventions,  and 
poeticke  flowers,  and  in  faire  and  pertinent  comparisons,  as  it  shall  retaine 
the  lustre  of  a  poem,  although  in  prose" ;  and  that  "since  there  is  nothing 
left  to  be  saide  in  Greeke  and  Latine  alreadie,  and  ynew  of  poore  schollers 
would  match  you  in  these  languages,  ...  it  best  becometh  a  King  to  purify 
and  make  famous  his  own  tongue,  wherein  he  may  go  before  all  his  subjects." 


xlix 

of  James  as  a  Jacobean  and  not  as  a  belated  Elizabethan, 
or  to  judge  his  work  by  more  severe  standards  than  those 
applied  to  the  lyrics  of  Gascoigne  and  Googe  or  the  transla- 
tions of  Golding  and  Phaer. 

Like  the  work  of  the  last-mentioned  writers,  James's 
translations  from  Du  Bartas  are  in  fourteeners,  and  what- 
ever poetical  beauty  they  may  have  had  for  contemporary 
ears  1  is  greatly  diminished  for  modern  readers  by  the  lilt 
and  flop  of  this  almost  fatal  measure.  The  translations 
are  further  weakened  by  the  crabbed  literalness  with  which 
they  follow  the  original.  Even  in  the  King's  own  invention 
in  the  same  metre,  The  Lepanto,~D*.  Irving  searches  vainly  for 
''felicity  of  expression  or  elevation  of  thought."2  Graces 
such  as  he  implies  are  truly  lacking,  but  James,  as  in  his 
prose  and  conversation,  had  a  gift  of  picturesque  and  racy 
phrase.  His  style  in  the  description  of  the  battle  between 
the  Christian  and  the  Turkish  navies  is  concrete  and  lively, 
and  at  times  achieves  an  almost  ballad-like  simplicity,  as 
in  the  account  of  the  gathering  of  the  Christian  forces, 
11.  268-279:- 

,       "There  came  eight  thousand  Spaniards  brave, 

From  hotte  and  barren  Spaine, 
Good  order  kepars,  cold  in  fight, 

With  proud  disdainfull  braine. 
From  pleasant  fertill  Italic, 

There  came  twelve  thousand  als, 
With  sub  till  spreites  bent  to  revenge, 

By  craftie  meanes  and  fals. 
Three  thousande  Almans  also  came, 

From  Countries  colde  and  wide, 
These  monney  men  with  awfull  cheare 

The  chok  will  dourelie  bide." 

The  Dreame  on  his  Mistris  (XVII)  is  perhaps  a  better 
example  of  the  author's  ability  to  handle  "eights  and 

1  Gascoigne  says  Phaer 's  Virgil  is  "in  a  brave  long  verse,  stately  and 
flowing.  ..."  —  Eliz.  Critical  Essays,  Vol.  I,  p.  362. 

2  History  of  Scotish  Poetry,  p.  502. 


1 

sixes"  with  some  approach  to  dignity.  This  and  the  Com- 
plaint of  his  Mistressis  Absence  from  Court  (XVI)  were 
written  some  years  later  than  the  other  pieces  of  the  Ama- 
toria,  and  show  the  progress  he  was  making  toward  a  sounder 
conception  of  poetry.  They  are  not,  like  most  of  the  early 
poems,  a  mere  jumble  of  fantastic  conceits.  They  are 
chiefly  commendable,  however,  the  first  poem  for  the  in- 
genious comparison  of  the  alteration  at  court  to  changed 
weather  at  sea,  and  the  second  for  the  skill  with  which  the 
poet  interprets  the  tokens  left  by  his  mistress.  Like  the 
Phasnix,  an  allegorical  elegy  on  the  death  of  d'Aubigny 
(Essayes  of  a  Prentise},  the  Satire  against  Woemen  (XVIII), 
and  the  Admonition  (LI),  the  two  pieces  display  a  clever- 
ness of  invention  which  somewhat  atones  for  the  absence  of 
more  poetical  qualities. 

In  his  short  poems,  the  King's  favorite  form  is  the  sonnet, 
a  form  suited,  according  to  the  Reulis  and  cautelis,  not  only 
for  love  matters,  but  for  the  "compendious  praysing  of  any 
bukes,  or  the  authoris  thairof,  or  any  argumentis  of  uther 
historeis";  and  the  rhyme-scheme  he  adopts  is  of  especial 
interest  in  connection  with  the  practice  of  contemporary 
writers.  Hoffmann  *  has  already  pointed  out  that  »the 
arrangement  of  the  rhymes  in  Spenser's  Amoretti,  abab, 
bcbc,  cdcd,  ee,  was  employed  also  by  Montgomerie  in  thirty- 
seven  of  his  seventy-two  sonnets,  and  that  one  of  these  was 
published  in  The  Essayes  of  a  Prentise  in  1584,  the  first  ap- 
pearance of  the  form  in  print.2  But  it  is  notable  that  the 
King  and  the  other  sonneteers  in  the  Essayes  adopt  the 
same  scheme,  and  that  James  adheres  to  it  strictly  in  all 
save  four  of  his  published  sonnets.  Little  significance  need 
be  attached  to  the  actual  date  of  publication,  and  Spenser 
must  have  written  sonnets  —  other  than  the  unrhymed 
translations  from  Petrarch  and  Du  Bellay  —  earlier  than 

1  Englische  Studien,  Vol.  XX,  p.  24. 

*  It  is  not  true,  as  has  sometimes  been  stated,  that  the  final  couplet  is 
unknown  in  French  sonnets.  To  be  specific,  five  of  Ronsard's,  three  of  Du 
Bellay's,  one  of  Jodelle's,  two  of  Dorat's,  and  eight  of  Thyard's  have  the  coup- 
let ;  and  two  of  Ronsard's  have  alternate  rhymes  in  the  octave  as  well  as  the 
sestet. 


li 

1586 ; l  but  he  is  not  known  to  have  published  any  before 
the  dedicatory  verses  at  the  opening  of  The  Faerie  Queene  in 
I59O,2  and  by  this  time  he  would  have  been  familiar  with 
the  King's  reputation  as  a  patron,  and  doubtless  also  with 
his  verse.  It  is  not  in  any  case  a  matter  to  be  settled  by 
the  relative  merits  of  the  writers  concerned.  Either  James 
or  Montgomerie,  with  their  fondness  for  intricate  and  fre- 
quent rhyming,  might  have  invented  the  scheme  by  follow- 
ing Gascoigne's  statement  that  "the  first  twelve  [lines]  do 
ryme  in  staves  of  four  lines  by  crosse  meetre,  and  the  last 
two  ryming  togither  do  conclude  the  whole."  3 

Daniel  is  the  only  English  poet  who  adopts  the  rhyming 
of  Spenser  in  any  of  his  sonnets ; 4  but  it  is  found  more  fre- 
quently among  Scottish  writers,  and  is  in  such  cases  a  sign 
of  the  influence  of  James  and  Montgomerie.  The  Hudsons 
and  Fowler  employ  it  exclusively  in  the  scanty  collections 
of  their  verse  which  have  survived;  there  are  five  or  six 
examples  scattered  among  the  poems  of  Sir  William  Alex- 
ander 5  and  Sir  David  Murray; 6  Mure  of  Rowallan  7  uses 
it  in  twenty-five  or  thirty  sonnets'  In  Scotland  it  is  fre- 
quently the  form  adopted  by  occasional  and  amateur  prac- 
titioners,8 often  with  a  view  apparently  of  pleasing  the  King. 

1 A  sonnet  to  Harvey  (Globe  ed.,  p.  607)  is  dated  July  18,  of  this  year. 

*  It  has  often  been  noticed  that  the  Spenserian  stanza  is  precisely  the  first 
nine  lines  of  the  Spenserian  sonnet,  with  an  additional  foot  at  the  end.  One 
might  easily,  therefore,  have  been  developed  from  the  other.  If,  however, 
the  stanza  is  to  be  traced  to  others  of  similar  length,  it  should  be  compared, 
not  with  ottava  rima,  which  Spenser  employs  nowhere  save  in  Muiopotmos, 
but  with  the  French  octave,  abab,  bcbc,  which  he  uses  frequently.  This  was 
even  more  popular  in  Scottish  poetry  than  in  English,  and  was  one  of  the 
favorite  staves  of  Scott,  Maitland,  Montgomerie,  and  other  contemporaries 
of  James. 

3  Elizabethan  Critical  Essays,  Vol.  I,  p.  55. 

4  In  eight  sonnets,  Works,  ed.  Grosart,  Vol.  I,  pp.  17,  35,  49,  59,  60,  223, 
277. 

6  Works,  ed.  1870-1872,  Vol.  I,  pp.  38,  46.  For  another  by  Aytoun,  cf. 
p.  xxix. 

6  Poems,  Bann.  Club,  XV  and  XVIII  of  the  sonnets  to  Ccelia.    Also  a 
commendatory  sonnet  by  Simon  Grahame  prefixed  to  Sophonisba. 

7  Works,  S.  T.  S.,  Vol.  I,  pp.  47-58,  301-306. 

8  Among  others,  three  sonnets  by  James  Melville  hi  Vita  et  Morte  Roberti 
Rollok,  Bann.  Club  reprint;  six  by  Walter  Quin  on  the  heroes  of  the  Gowry 


lii 

The  latter's  persistent  use  of  it  in  spite  of  its  difficulty 
may  indicate  that  he  took  some  credit  to  himself  for  its 
inception;  it  at  least  shows  his  attention  to  matters  of 
form.  Of  the  five  sonnets  with  inclosed  instead  of  alternate 
rhymes,  one,  the  fifth  of  the  Amatoria,  is  written  with  a 
pretense  of  anonymity,  and  the  rest  are  of  much  later  date,1 
An  examination  of  all  the  sonnets  shows  that  more  than  half 
make  the  'turn'  at  the  end  of  the  eighth  instead  of  the 
twelfth  line,  though  several  are  arranged  as  a  series  of 
quatrains  with  a  final  couplet. 

It  would  be  easy  to  illustrate  from  the  poems  the  sins  of 
the  school  of  conceits,  as  for  instance  in  the  sonnet  on  the 
Armada  (App.  II,  II),  where  the  storm  which  aided  in  the 
defeat  of  the  Spanish  navy  is  attributed  to  the  boisterous 
laughter  of  God,  or  the  passage  of  the  Uranie,  quoted  on 
page  xxxv,  in  which  the  Bible  is  likened,  among  other  things, 
to  a  bottomless  ocean,  a  spring  of  eloquence,  and  a  cornu- 
copia. Here  the  author  is  following  Du  Bartas,  whose  in- 
fluence on  his  British  followers,  whatever  his  original  merits, 
must  be  considered  wholly  pernicious.  As  a  final  instance 
may  be  cited  the  sonnet  on  Archbishop  Adamson's  para- 
phrase of  Job,  which  is  spun  entirely  out  of  the  supposed 
resemblance  between  the  prelate's  "gifts  of  sprite"  and 
Job's  "gifts  of  geare." 

James  is  most  nearly  inspired  on  the  subject  of  the  divine 
right  of  kings ;  the  sonnet  to  Henry  at  the  beginning  of 
the  Basilikon  Dor  on  (App.  II,  V)  opens  with  the  finely 
Tamburlanian  line,  — 

"God  gives  not  Kings  the  stile  of  Gods  in  vaine/* 

4 

and  maintains  something  of  this  high  and  stately  dignity 
throughout.  Three  other  sonnets,  written  towards  the 
close  of  the  King's  reign  in  Scotland,  are  easily  distinguished 
from  the  rest  as  the  summit  of  his  achievement  in  poetry. 

Fray  in  Sertum  Poeticum,  Edinburgh,  1600;  one  by  Alexander  Hume, 
Poems,  S.  T.  S.,  p.  9 ;  and  a  large  number  by  Alexander  Craig  in  his  Poeticall 
Essayes,  London,  1604,  and  Poeticall  Recreations,  Edinburgh,  1609. 

1  In  the  present  collection,  XXXIV,  XL VII,  XLIX,  and  App.  II,  IV. 


liii 

One  of  these  is  the  Mnigme  of  Sleepe  (XXXVI) ,  more  pleas- 
ing in  thought  than  in  style,  yet  not  unworthy  of  comparison 
with  better-known  essays  on  this  familiar  theme.  The  other 
two  are  the  pair  of  sonnets  on  page  39,  the  first  beginning, 

"Not  orientall  Indus  cristall  streames," 
and  the  second, 

"Faire  famous  Isle,  where  Agathocles  rang." 

In  sustained  music,  conformity  to  the  technique  of  the 
sonnet,  and  prettiness  of  fancy,  if  not  elevation,  these  might 
find  a  place  in  even  a  limited  anthology  of  the  sonnets  of 
the  sixteenth  and  early  seventeenth  centuries. 

A  minor  poet  is  fortunate  if  he  has  thus  surpassed  himself 
in  two  or  three  poems.  Yet  in  the  case  of  James,  while  it 
is  hardly  necessary  to  apply  Sir  James  Melville's  remark 
regarding  Mary  Stuart's  lute  playing,  that  she  did  "reason- 
ably for  a  queen,"  it  is  still  true  that  his  verse  derives  its 
interest  chiefly  from  his  high  political  station  and  the  con- 
sequent value  attached  to  an  intimate  revelation  of  his 
personal  character.  In  this  respect,  his  poems  do  not 
reflect  the  vices  and  extreme  feebleness  of  which  he  is  often 
accused.  They  show,  however,  that  though  of  an  emo- 
tional temperament  —  quick  to  tears  or  laughter  —  James 
was  blessed  with  little  imagination  or  insight.  Such  gifts 
as  he  had  were  more  distinctly  intellectual  —  an  orderly 
and  inventive  habit  of  mind,  agility  in  debate,  and  a  fond- 
ness for  logical  finesse  which  had  been  cultivated  from  his 
school  days  under  Buchanan,  who  was  himself  both  con- 
troversialist and  poet. 

The  formula  of  his  verse  would  include  as  important 
elements  the  extravagant  style  of  Renaissance  love  poetry, 
imitated  chiefly  from  Montgomerie;  the  limitations  of 
theme  and  treatment  due  to  his  exalted  position  and  his 
acceptance  of  the  narrow  views  of  Calvinism;  and  the 
tendency  toward  intellectual  activity  uncontrolled  by  good 
sense  which  was  not  uncommon  in  current  discussions  of 


liv 

politics  and  religion.  The  first  and  last  of  these  influences 
are  conspicuous  in  Jacobean  poetry ;  and  it  might  even  be 
said  that,  though  his  work  belongs  to  an  earlier  period,  his 
training  and  tastes  were  fairly  in  accord  with  those  which 
prevailed  during  his  reign  in  England. 


ARRIVAL  IN  ENGLAND :  PATRONAGE  OF  PROSE 
AND   THE  DRAMA 

"The  very  poets  with  their  idle  pamphlets,  promise  them- 
selves large  part  in  his  favour." 

James's  reputation  as  a  poet  and  patron  reached  England 
long  before  his  accession  to  the  throne,  and  heightened  the 
chorus  of  welcome  on  his  actual  arrival.  Sidney's  mention 
of  "King  James  of  Scotland"  l  as  patron  of  poetry  undoubt- 
edly refers  to  the  author  of  The  Kingis  Quair,  though  if  the 
Apology  were  written  as  late  as  1583  Sidney  must  have  been 
aware  of  the  younger  Stuart's  scholarly  accomplishments. 
Ten  years  later  both  of  James's  early  volumes  of  verse  were 
evidently  familiar  to  Harvey,  who  devotes  a  paragraph 
of  Pierce 's  Supererogation  to  euphuistic  praise  of  Du  Bartas 
and  the  King  —  "the  woorthy  Prince  that  is  a  Homer  to 
himselfe,  a  Golden  spurre  to  Nobility,  a  Scepter  to  Vertue, 
a  verdure  to  the  Spring,  a  Sunne  to  the  day,  and  hath  not 
onely  translated  the  two  diuine  Poems  of  Salustius  du 
Bartas,  his  Heavenly  Vrany,  and  his  hellish  Furies,  but  hath 
readd  a  most  valorous  Martial  Lecture  unto  himself  in 
his  owne  victorious  Lepanto,  a  short,  but  heroicall  worke, 
in  meeter,  but  royall  meeter,  fitt  for  a  Dauids  harpe."  2 
•  Barnfield,  in  1598,  makes  the  King's  love  of  poetry  the 
point  of  the  second  sonnet  at  the  opening  of  his  Poems:  in 
divers  Humors  :3 — 

"And  you,  that  discommend  sweet  Poesie, 
(So  that  the  Subject  of  the  same  be  good) 

1  Elizabethan  Critical  Essays,  ed.  Gregory  Smith,  Vol.  I,  p.  193.  For 
Sidney's  intercourse  with  James,  cf.  XXX,  note. 

1  Ibid.,  Vol.  II,  p.  265.  3  Roxburghe  Club  ed.,  p.  181. 

lv 


Ivi 

Here  may  you  see,  your  fond  simplicitie, 
Sith  Kings  have  favored  it,  of  royal  Blood. 
The  King  of  Scots  (now  living)  is  a  Poet 
As  his  Lepanto  and  his  Furies  show  it." 

Meres,  in  Palladis  Tamia  (1598),  quotes  the  last  two  lines 
of  Barnfield,1  while  Vaughan  in  The  Golden  Grove  (1600) 
writes  that  "James  ...  is  a  notable  Poet,  and  daily 
setteth  out  most  learned  poems,  to  the  admiration  of  all 
his  subjects."  2 

In  Allott's  England's  Parnassus  (1600), 3  there  are  ten 
quotations  from  James,  nine  from  the  Uranie  and  one  from 
the  Phoenix,  amounting  in  all  to  about  seventy  lines.  Bo- 
denham  in  his  account  of  the  contributors  to  Belvedere,  or 
The  Garden  of  the  Muses*  published  in  the  same  year,  gives 
to  James  a  place  of  honor.  He  has  drawn,  he  writes,  first 
from  the  triumphs,  tiltings,  and  similar  laudatory  verses 
dedicated  to  Elizabeth;  and  next  from  "what  workes  of 
Poetrie  have  been  put  to  the  world's  eye  by  that  learned 
and  right  royall  king  and  Poet,  James  King  of  Scotland,  no 
one  sentence  of  worth  hath  escaped.  .  .  ."  The  number 
of  lines  which  passed  this  test  are  not  easily  discovered  in 
the  olla-podrida  of  Bodenham's  collection. 

It  was  thus  with  a  well- justified  hope  "of  a  more  regard 
to  the  present  condition  of  our  writings,  in  respect  of  our 
soveraignes  happy  inclination  this  way,"  5  that  poets  good, 
bad  and  indifferent  lifted  up  their  voices  in  mingled  grief  and 
rejoicing  at  the  change  of  rulers.  Innumerable  were  the 
"Sorrowes  Joyes"  and  "Mournefull  Ditties  to  a  pleasant 
newe  Note"  which  met  the  King  on  his  leisurely  progress 
into  England.  Daniel,  Drayton,  T.  Greene  the  actor,  the 
two  Fletchers  of  Cambridge  in  the  poems  issued  by  the 
University,  Chettle  the  playwright,  were  among  the  more 

1  Elizabethan  Critical  Essays,  ed.  Smith,  Vol.  II,  p.  321. 
1  Ibid.,  p.  326. 

8  Collier's  Poetical  Miscellanies,  Vol.  VI ;  and  on  the  authorship  of  quota- 
tions, cf.  Crawfurd,  Notes  and  Queries,  Ser.  X,  Vol.  X,  p.  262. 
4  Spenser  Society  reprint,  London,  1875. 
8  From  the  prefatory  note  of  Daniel's  Defence  of  Ryme  (1603). 


Ivii 

conspicuous  who  thus  mingled  dirge  and  panegyric.1  To 
gratify  fully  the  hopes  of  these  poets,  the  royal  revenues 
must  needs  have  exceeded  the  bounds  of  their  imaginations. 
But  there  is  good  evidence  that  James,  with  his  character- 
istic recklessness  in  money  matters,  and  after  the  'patterns 
of  vertuous  princes'  he  had  studied  in  childhood,  seriously 
intended  to  take  the  arts  and  letters  under  his  protection. 

In  this  respect  it  was  not  difficult  for  him  to  surpass  the 
generosity  of  his  predecessor,  regarding  whom  the  best 
Vaughan  can  say  is  that  she  made  a  certain  Dr.  Haddon 
master  of  requests.2  Indeed,  though  the  Queen's  person 
and  career  stirred  her  subjects  to  high  poetical  enthusiasm, 
there  is  little  to  show  that  she  was  particularly  interested  in 
literature  or  extended  assistance  of  a  more  practical  sort. 
Patronage  during  her  reign  came  chiefly  from  gentlemen  of 
culture  such  as  Sidney  and  Essex,  and  from  noble  ladies 
such  as  Sidney's  sister  the  Countess  of  Pembroke,  the 
Countess  of  Cumberland  and  her  mother,  and  the  Countess 
of  Bedford.3 

Under  James,  this  private  encouragement  was  supple- 
mented and  in  some  measure  supplanted  by  the  direct  sup- 
port of  the  royal  family.  This  maybe  accounted  for  not  only 
by  the  royal  monopoly  of  dramatic  patronage,  but  also  by 
the  King's  personal  interest  in  poetry  and  prose  controversy, 
Shakspere's  position  as  chief  dramatist  of  the  King's  com- 
pany of  actors,  Bacon's  political  promotion,  Donne's  pre- 
ferment in  the  church  by  the  King's  influence,  and  Jonson's 
services  as  composer  of  masques  illustrate,  not  so  much 
the  rewards  extended  for  literary  accomplishment,  as  the 
relations  with  the  court  of  the  chief  literary  figures  of  the 
period. 

The  general  question  of  court  patronage  of  the  drama  in 
the  reign  of  James  is  much  too  complicated  for  brief  or  sub- 

1  For  poems  on  the  accession,  cf.  Nichols,  Progresses  of  King  James,  Vol.  I, 
pp.  x-xxxvii. 

2  Elizabethan  Critical  Essays,  Vol.  II,  p.  325. 

3  Cf.  Miss  Ph.  Sheavyn,  Patrons  and  Professional  Writers  under  Elizabeth 
and  James  I.    In  discussing  the  incomes  of  writers,  Miss  Sheavyn  makes 
but  slight  reference  to  gifts  and  pensions  from  the  crown. 


Iviii 

ordinated  treatment,  and  has  been  left  outside  the  scope  of 
the  present  study.  Attention  may  be  called  merely  to  the 
King's  early  interest  in  entertainments  of  this  character,  an 
interest  which  may  explain  the  pleasure  which  in  later  years 
he  is  known  to  have  taken  in  all  forms  of  drama  and  the- 
atrical spectacle.  The  evidence  on  this  point  is  furnished 
in  part  by  the  masque  or  Epithalamion  (I»IV)  which  he 
himself  contrived  in  1588  for  the  marriage  of  his  ward,  the 
daughter  of  Lennox,  and  the  Earl  of  Huntly.  Save  as 
the  sole  extant  example  of  its  type  in  Scottish  literature, 
the  piece  is  in  no  way  remarkable,  and  mingles  disguise, 
dialogue,  spectacle,  comic  byplay  (at  least  suggested  by  the 
presence  of  the  zany  or  clown),  and  classical  mythology 
after  the  usual  formula  of  French  Hymenee  and  English 
maskings  at  feasts  and  royal  progresses.  Though  there  is 
no  indication  of  dancing,  the  component  elements  are  other- 
wise much  the  same  as  those  of  the  more  elaborate  shows  of 
Jonson  and  Inigo.  Jones,  at  which  it  is  only  fair  to  suppose 
the  King  an  appreciative  spectator,  capable  of  enjoying 
not  merely  the  fantastic  erudition  of  the  pieces,  but  also 
their  finer  artistic  and  poetic  qualities.1 

James  had  a  hand  also,  with  his  friend  William  Fowler,  in 
the  games  and  shows  at  the  christening  of  Prince  Henry, 
August  23,  1594.  The  entertainment  at  the  banquet  fol- 
lowing the  ceremony,  according  to  Fowler,2  was  intended 
by  the  King  as  an  allegory  representing  the  favor  shown 

1  There  is  thus  no  reason  for  accepting  Brotanek's  suggestion  that  the 
popularity  of  the  masque  in  the  English  court  was  due  chiefly  to  the  influ- 
ence of  Queen  Anne,  or  that  it  was  unknown  in  England  prior  to  her  arrival. 
(Die  Englische  Maskenspiele,  Wiener  Beitrdge,  1902,  p.  279.) 

1 A  True  Accompt  .  .  .  of  the  baptism  of  .  .  .  Prince  Henry,  Edinburgh, 
i594(  ?).  Printed,  from  the  London  edition  of  1603,  in  Nichols,  Progresses  of 
Eliz.,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  353-369.  At  a  second  banquet  a  chariot  was  employed, 
on  which  was  a  table  surrounded  by  six  ladies,  —  Ceres,  Faith,  Fecundity, 
Concord,  Liberty,  and  Perseverance.  It  was  to  have  been  drawn  in  by  a 
tame  lion  (who  figures  in  the  treasurer's  accounts  of  the  time),  but  this  ex- 
periment was  abandoned  "lest  his  presence  might  have  brought  some  fear  to 
the  nearest."  Malone  has  connected  this  with  the  lion  in  Midsummer 
Night's  Dream  (c.  1594),  whose  roaring  "might  fright  the  duchess  and  the 
ladies."  The  existence  of  a  1594  edition  of  the  Accompt,  of  which  Malone 
was  unaware,  makes  his  suggestion  not  unlikely. 


lix 

him  by  the  gods  during  his  voyage  to  Denmark  and  in  the 
happy  issue  of  his  marriage.  Its  chief  property  consisted 
of  a  movable  ship,  eighteen  feet  long,  eight  feet  wide,  and 
four  feet  high,  which  was  elaborately  decorated  with  sails 
of  taffeta,  ordnance,  and  rigging,  and  manned  by  Arion 
with  his  harp,  Neptune,  Thetis,  and  Triton,  three  sirens, 
six  sailors,  and  fourteen  musicians.  The  vessel  approached 
the  table,  delivered  the  banquet,  and  departed  at  the  close 
after  the  singing  of  the  One  Hundred  Twenty-eighth  Psalm. 
The  whole  entertainment,  of  which  this  was  merely  a 
part,  and  which  extended  over  several  days,  illustrates  the 
pleasure  taken  by  the  royal  couple  in  gorgeous  and  costly 
spectacle. 

These,  however,  were  but  the  pastimes  of  idle  moments. 
Of  a  much  more  serious  character  was  the  King's  interest 
in  the  disputes  of  scholars  over  problems  in  theology  and  in 
what  was  at  the  time  the  closely  allied  subject  of  the  theory 
of  government.  From  his  childhood  his  studies  had  been 
especially  in  these  fields;  as  the  French  Ambassador, 
Boderie,  remarks,  theology  was  the  subject  which  he  knew 
best,  and  in  the  discussion  of  which  he  took  the  greatest 
pleasure.1  The  sermons  and  paraphrases  in  the  stirring 
years  of  Spanish  preparations  against  England  have  already 
been  mentioned.2  The  Damonologie,  a  dialogue  on  witch- 
craft, directed  especially  against  the  damnable  scepticism  of 
Reginald  Scott  and  the  German  physician  Weirus,  appeared 
in  1597  ;  The  Trewe  Lawe  of  free  [i.e.  absolute]  Monarchies? 
in  answer  to  the  arguments  of  Buchanan,  Hotman,  Hubert 
Languet,  and  similar  reformers,  in  1598 ;  and  the  Basilikon 
Doron,  altogether  the  most  original  and  pleasing  of  the 
King's  writings,  early  in  IS99.4  The  curiosity  aroused  by 
James's  accession  to  the  English  throne  led  to  the  republi- 

1  Ambassades,  ed.  1750,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  190. 

2  Cf.  p.  xxxiv. 

1  "The  bent  of  it  was  directed  against  the  course  of  God's  worke  in  our 
Kirk  and  ellis  where,  as  rebellious  to  Kings."  —  Calderwood,  Historic  of  the 
Kirk  of  Scotland,  Vol.  V,  p.  727. 

4  The  first  edition  was  limited  to  seven  copies.  Nicholson  refers  to  the 
treatise  in  a  letter  written  in  October,  1598  (Col.  S.  P.  Sco.,  p.  759). 


Ix 

cation  of  all  of  these  in  or  about  the  year  1603,  and  the 
translation  of  the  more  important  into  Latin,  French,  and 
other  languages. 

After  a  short  interval,  the  King  was  again  stirred  to  con- 
troversy by  Catholic  opposition  to  the  Oath  of  Allegiance 
(1606),  following  the  Gunpowder  Plot,  which  required 
Catholic  Englishmen  to  deny  the  temporal  supremacy  of 
the  Pope.  An  Apologie  For  The  Oath  of  Allegiance,  which 
appeared  late  in  1607^  was  the  King's  defense  of  this  re- 
quirement, in  reply  especially  to  two  breves  from  the  Pope 
to  English  Catholics  and  Cardinal  Bellarmine's  published 
letter  to  the  Archpriest  George  Blackwell.2  The  Apologie 
was  re-issued  in  May,  i6o9,3  with  formal  admission  of  the 
royal  authorship  and  an  extended  Premonition  To  All  Most 
Mightie  Monarches,  Kings,  Free  Princes,  and  States  of  Chris- 
tendome,  defending  the  Apologie  against  its  critics.  In  the 
meantime  a  veritable  battle  of  the  books  had  ensued,  in 
which  continental  theologians  found  a  target  for  their  pam- 
phlets in  the  prominence  of  their  royal  opponent.  Before 
1615  at  least  thirty-six  distinct  works  appeared  on  one  side 
or  the  other,  and  a  complete  list  of  translations,  re-issues, 
and  skirmishes  on  the  borders  of  the  main  engagement 
would  number  many  more.4  Among  the  more  important 
English  writers  who  came  to  the  King's  defense  were 
Launcelot  Andrewes,  Bishop  of  Chichester,  William  Bar- 
low, Bishop  of  Lincoln,  William  Tooker,  Dean  of  Lichfield, 
John  Donne  the  poet,  John  Barclay,  and  Samuel  Collins, 
Regius  Professor  at  Cambridge.  "On  y  travaille,"  writes 
Boderie  of  the  Premonition,  "  et  il  y  a  une  petite  congregation 

1  "II  se  trouvera  du  bien  et  du  mal  .  .  .  le  style  en  est  vehement  et  te- 
moigne  de  la  passion."  —  Boderie,  Vol.  II,  p.  105  (December,  1607). 

2  Cf.  W.  H.  Frere,  A  History  of  the  English  Church  in  the  Reigns  of  Elizabeth 
and  James  7,  London,  1904,  pp.  337  ff. 

3  Hist.  MSS.  Comm.  Reports,  IV',  p.  343.    Letter  written  by  W.  Johnson, 
May  24,  1609,  sending  a  book  "lately  set  forth  by  the  King,  presently  called 
in  again,  and  now  newly  set  forth  .  .  .  out  of  the  press  but  yesterday." 

4  A  list,  by  no  means  complete,  is  given  by  Birch  in  an  appendix  to  the 
1772  edition  of  Harris's  Life  and  Writings  of  James  I.     For  a  more  extended 
account  of  the  King's  part  in  the  controversy,  cf.  Irving,  Lives  of  the 
Scotish  Poets,  Vol.  II,  pp.  232-251. 


Ixi 

de  gens  doctes  qui  tous  les  jours  s'assemblent  devant  le  dit 
Roi,  pou  revoir  et  corriger  les  traductions  qui  en  ont  etc 
faites."  1  Their  method  evidently  was  the  same  as  that 
employed  by  the  contemporary  translators  of  the  Bible. 
In  1612,  the  King  gave  a  new  turn  to  the  discussion  by  the 
publication  of  A  Declaration  concerning  the  Proceedings  with 
the  States  Generall,  of  the  United  Provinces  of  the  Low  Coun- 
treys,  in  the  cause  of  D.  Conradus  Vorstius,  an  attack  on  the 
Dutch  professor  for  his  Arminian  disbelief  in  the  limited 
essence  and  complete  foreknowledge  of  God.  The  main 
question  was  again  taken  up,  however,  in  A  Remonstrance 
for  the  Right  of  Kings,  and  the  Independance  of  their  Crownes, 
against  an  Oration  of  the  Most  Illustrious  Card,  of  Perron, 
pronounced  in  the  Chamber  of  the  third  Estate,  Jan.  75,  1615. 
In  the  next  year,  all  of  these  prose  pieces,  with  six  of  the 
King's  addresses  in  Parliament,  were  gathered  together  in 
chronological  order  in  a  single  folio  volume. 

The  almost  complete  oblivion  of  these  tracts,  in  modern 
times,  obscures  somewhat  their  importance  in  the  age  when 
they  were  written.  They  were  the  defense  of  the  estab- 
lished monarchical  form  of  government,  on  the  one  hand 
against  the  Puritans  who  in  Scotland  and  later  in  England 
sought  to  set  up  a  religious  commonwealth  like  that  of 
Calvin  at  Geneva,  and  on  the  other  hand  against  the  pre- 
tensions of  the  Pope  to  temporal  power.  Like  Hooker  in 
the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  James  bent  his  energies  to  meet  these 
attacks;  and  however  extreme  his  position,  it  was  funda- 
mentally in  accord  with  what  has  remained  the  traditional 
English  attitude.  The  theory  of  the  divine  right  of  kings  was 
now  first  fully  formulated ;  fantastic  as  it  may  seem  to-day, 
it  was  the  result  merely  of  an  effort  to  find  for  monarchy  the 
same  sanction  as  that  asserted  by  its  opponents,  and  the 
only  one  they  were  disposed  to  accept.  Needless  to  say, 
if  James  could  have  conducted  his  government  as  skilfully 
as  his  arguments,  such  defense  might  not  have  been  nec- 
essary. 

In  the  partial  list,  already  given,  of  writers  whom  re. 

1  Ambassades,  Vol.  IV,  p.  323  (May  14,  1609). 


bdi 

ligious  zeal  or  desire  for  royal  favor  drew  into  this  ink  and 
paper  warfare,  the  names  of  Donne  and  Barclay  1  are  the 
only  ones  of  much  note  in  literature.  For  the  latter's  stay 
in  England,  and  his  services  as  the  King's  literary  assistant 
and  companion  in  scholarship,  his  biographers  have  hitherto 
depended  largely  on  the  references  in  his  own  writings  and 
those  of  his  friend  Casaubon;  but  these  may  easily  be 
supplemented  by  the  records,  hi  part  given  in  the  calendars 
of  state  papers,  of  the  place  and  pension  which  he  received 
for  his  reward.  Barclay's  father  was  a  Scottish  Catholic 
who  in  the  reign  of  Mary  had  settled  at  Pont-a-Mousson  as 
professor  of  law  in  a  Jesuit  college,  and  who  as  a  Catholic 
had  attracted  attention  in  1600  by  a  treatise  defending  the 
rights  of  kings  against  the  Pope.2  Father  and  son  paid  a 
short  visit  to  England  in  1603,  and  in  1606  the  son  was 
again  in  London,  seeking  patronage  in  the  usual  fashion  by 
the  composition  of  adulatory  verses  in  Latin.3  His  first 
recorded  recompense  was  £100,  paid  by  Cecil,  October  26, 
i6o7,4  and  in  the  following  June  he  was  granted  an  annuity 
of  £25o.5 

The  date  of  his  second  departure  from  England  and  the 
nature  of  his  mission  abroad  may  be  derived  from  a  letter 
of  Boderie,  June  24,  1609,  to  the  effect  that  Barclay  had 
been  appointed  to  carry  the  Premonition  to  the  Emperor 
of  Germany,  -the  King  of  Hungary,  and  the  Dukes  of 

1  John  Barclay  (1582-1621)  is  remembered  chiefly  as  the  author  of  Eu- 
phormionis  Satyricon  (1603),  one  of  the  first  examples  of  picaresque  fiction 
outside  of  Spain,  and  of  Argenis  (1621),  a  widely  read  ideal  romance  in  Latin, 
with  allusions  to  contemporary  courts  and  politics.     Cf .  Cam.  Hist,  of  Eng. 
Lit.,  Vol.  IV,  Chap,  xiii,  and  references  there  cited. 

2  De  Regno  el  regali  potestate,  adversos  Buchanum,  Brutum,  et  Boucherium, 
et  reliquos  Monarchomachos,  Paris,  1600. 

8  His  poems  entitled  Sylva  (London,  1606)  are  dedicated  to  Christian  IV 
of  Denmark,  who  visited  England  in  July  of  that  year.  They  contain  verses 
to  James,  on  the  rumor  of  his  death  (March  24, 1606),  and  to  Prince  Henry, 
Cecil,  Lennox,  and  Hay. 

4  Co/.  5.  P.  Dom. 

6  "An  annuity  of  250  li.  per  anno  for  John  Barklay  gent,  stranger,  for 
terme  of  his  lyfe,  to  beginne  from  our  Lady  day  last  past."  —  Signet  Office 
Docquets,  Public  Records  Office.  (References  to  the  original  documents 
indicate  that  the  payments  do  not  appear  in  the  calendars.) 


Ixiii 

Bavaria,  Lorraine,  and  Savoy.1  For  this  journey  a  payment 
had  already  been  made,  May  29,  "unto  his  Maties  servants 
[John]  Barclay  and  Robert  Aytoun  [the  poet]  gents,  and  of 
the  Grooms  of  the  Privy  Chamber  the  sum  of  300  li.  to  each 
of  them,  for  their  charge  and  expense,  being  sent  unto 
divers  forraine  Princes  with  His  Ms  L'res";2  and  in  No- 
vember Barclay  obtained  £200  in  addition.3  Later  grants 
and  gifts 4  may  be  recorded  briefly  as  follows :  January, 
1610,  pension  of  £200,  on  surrender  of  his  former  pension  of 
£250  3;  February,  1611,  pension  of  £60  to  Anne  de  Mala- 
ville,  wife  of  William  Barclay;2  July,  1611,  free  gift  of 
£ioo3;  March,  1614,  pension  of  £200  to  Louise  Barclay, 
wife  of  John  Barclay;2  August,  1615,  "to  John  Barklay, 
Esq.,  the  sum  of  250  li.  of  his  Maties  free  gift,  in  considera- 
tion of  his  services."  2  At  the  time  of  this  last  payment, 
Barclay  seems  to  have  been  making  preparations  for  his 
final  change  of  residence  to  Rome,  where  he  spent  the  last 
years  of  his  life,  for  in  this  year  he  gathered  together  a 
second  volume  of  poems,  and  there  is  a  record  of  a  transfer 
to  a  financial  agent  named  Burlamachi  of  all  three  of  the 
pensions  which  had  been  granted  to  him  and  his  family.5 

In  return  for  these  rewards,  Barclay  assisted  the  King  in 
translation  6  and  in  search  for  authorities,7  published  his 

1  Ambassades,  Vol.  IV,  p.  376. 
z  Signet  Office  Docquets. 

3  Cal.  S.  P.  Dom. 

4  September  2, 1610,  he  was  seeking  the  grant  of  an  escheat  which  had  been 
promised  him  by  the  King;   and  December  21,  1611,  he  wrote  Cecil  from 
Paris  for  the  payment  of  his  pension.  —  Cal.  S.  P.  Dom. 

8  September,  1615,  "An  annuity  of  260  li.  for  Phillip  Burlamacni  during 
his  life  upon  surrender  of  two  several  annuities,  one  of  200  li.  granted  to 
John  Barclay,  gent,  stranger,  and  the  other  of  60  li.  granted  to  Anne  de  Mala- 
ville  widow  of  a  William  Barclay  during  her  life.  And  also  the  grant  of  one 
other  annuity  of  200  li.  .  .  .  upon  surrender  of  the  like  annuity  granted  to 
Louise  Barclay,  wife  of  John  Barclay,  after  the  disease  of  her  said  husband." 
—  Docquets. 

6 "  Sir  Henry  Seville  is  appointed  to  correct  the  translation  of  the  King's 
book,  which  was  first  done  by  Davies,  then  by  Lionel  Sharpe,  by  Wilson,  and 
last  by  Barclay  the  French  poet."  —  Chamberlaine  to  Carleton,  April  27, 
1609,  Cal.  S.  P.  Dom. 

7  In  the  Bodl.  MS.  of  the  Premonition  there  is  a  note  in  the  King's  hand, 
"to  remember  to  speak  with  barclaye."  —  Lusus  Regius,  p.  x. 


Ixiv 

father's  De  Potestate  Papas  (1609),  answered  the  critics 
of  this  work  in  his  Pietas  (1612),  and  served  especially 
as  a  companion  for  the  King  in  the  learned  discussions 
in  which  he  delighted.  "Ad  Regem  hodie  Genovicum 
profectus,"  writes  Casaubon,  June,  1614,  "cum  eruditis- 
simo  et  amicissimo  Barclaio  diem  suavissime  consumpsi."  1 
Casaubon  was  fond  of  such  kindly  superlatives,  but 
there  is  evidence  that  even  he  at  times  grew  weary  of 
the  continued  attendance  which  James  was  pleased  to 
require. 

Walton,  in  his  life  of  Donne,  gives  an  account  of  the  simi- 
lar manner  in  which  the  English  poet  gained  a  standing  at 
court:  "The  King  had  formerly  both  known  and  put  a 
value  upon  his  company,  and  had  also  given  him  some  hopes 
of  a  state-employment;  being  always  much  pleased  when 
Mr.  Donne  attended  him,  especially  at  his  meals,  where 
there  were  usually  many  deep  discourses  of  general  learning 
and  very  often  friendly  disputes,  or  debates  of  religion  be- 
twixt his  Majesty  and  those  divines  whose  places  required 
their  attendance  on  him.2  According  to  Mr.  Gosse,3  though 
this  pleasant  story  is  doubtless  true  of  a  later  period,  there 
is  no  evidence  of  talk  at  meals  or  other  intercourse  between 
Donne  and  James  prior  to  1614,  save  on  one  occasion  in 
1609  —  again  recorded  by  Walton  —  when  the  King  com- 
manded the  composition  of  the  Pseudo-Martyr.  It  is  in- 
deed true  that  such  court  favor  as  the  poet  had,  assisted 
him  little  in  his  futile  efforts  during  the  years  1607-1610 
for  such  posts  as  Sir  William  Fowler's  office  of  secretary 

1  Ephemerides,  ed.  Russell,  p.  1062.     Casaubon  came  to  England  early  in 
1611,  and  remained  as  the  King's  pensioner  until  his  death  in  1614.    His 
opinions  of  his  patron  in  his  diary  and  private  letters  are  uniformly  favorable. 
He  found  him  "greater  than  report,  and  thought  him  more  so  every  time 
he  saw  him."  —  Ephem.     "I  enjoy  the  favor  of  this  excellent  monarch,  who 
is  really  more  instructed  than  most  people  give  him  credit  for.    He  is  a  lover 
of  learning  to  a  degree  beyond  belief ;  his  judgement  of  books,  old  and  new, 
is  such  as  would  become  a  professed  scholar  rather  than  a  mighty  prince."  — 
Letter  to  the  historian  De  Thou.     (The  passages  are  quoted  and  translated 
in  Pattison,  Isaac  Casaubon,  ed.  1892,  pp.  695,  285.) 

2  Life  of  Donne,  Library  of  English  Classics,  p.  207. 

3  The  Life  and  Letters  of  John  Donne,  London,  1899,  Vol.  II,  p.  58. 


Ixv 

to  the  Queen,1  a  secretaryship  in  Ireland,  and  the  place 
George  Sandys  later  occupied  as  secretary^  in  Virginia. 
Yet,  even  in  this  earlier  period,  it  is  inconceivable  that 
James,  who  was  on  the  lookout  for  clever  young  scholars 
and  waverers  from  Catholicism,  was  not  aware  of  Donne's 
gifts  and  search  for  preferment.  Thomas  Morton,  whom 
Donne  had  assisted  in  controversy,  was  in  1607  one  of  the 
King's  chaplains-in-ordinary ;  Sir  Henry  Goodyer,  to  whom 
the  poet  for  years  sent  weekly  letters,  was  of  the  privy 
chamber ;  Sir  Robert  Ker,  another  friend,  was  in  the  Prince's 
household.  If  the  Pseudo-Martyr  was  not  written  at  the 
King's  command  —  and  of  course  such  authority  would 
not  in  any  case  be  spoken  of  in  the  book  itself  —  it  was  at 
least  dedicated  to  the  King  and  written  chiefly  to  win  his 
regard.  When,  in  November,  1614,  the  poet's  claims  were 
finally  presented  definitely  to  James,  he  evidently  had 
already  formed  an  opinion  of  Donne's  gifts  and  a  plan  for 
his  career :  "I  know  Mr.  Donne  is  a  learned  man,  has  the 
abilities  of  a  learned  Divine,  and  will  prove  a  powerful 
preacher ;  and  my  desire  is  to  prefer  him  that  way,  and  in 
that  way  I  will  deny  you  nothing  for  him."  2  The  idea  of 
entering  the  church  had  been  in  Donne's  mind  at  least  two 
or  three  years  earlier ;  and  if,  as  he  used  to  say  later,  the 
King  "first  inclined  him  to  be  a  minister,"  there  may  pos- 
sibly have  been  some  previous  offer,  hindered,  as  Mr.  Gosse 
would  suggest,  by  the  poet's  hesitation  on  points  of  doc- 
trine. 

Walton  states  that  soon  after  his  entering  the  church 
Donne  became  one  of  the  King's  chaplains;  he  at  least 
preached  frequently  at  court  and  pleased  the  King  greatly 
by  his  sermons.  "A  piece  of  such  perfection  as  could 
admit  neither  addition  nor  diminution,"  James  is  said  to 

1  Ibid.,  Vol.  I,  p.  156.     Mr.  Gosse  here  suggests  that  Donne  was  seeking 
merely  some  employment  under  Fowler ;  but  that  his  aim  was  the  secretary- 
ship itself  is  shown  by  a  reference  in  a  letter  to  Goodyer  in  1611 :  "And  for  a 
token  of  my  desire  to  serve  him,  present  Mr.  Fowler  with  three  or  four  thou- 
sand pounds  of  this,  since  he  was  so  resolved  never  to  leave  his  place  without 
a  suit  of  like  value."  —  Ibid.,  Vol.  I,  p.  240. 

2  Walton,  Life  of  Donne,  p.  208. 


Ixvi 

have  remarked  of  the  Instructions  to  Preachers,  printed  at 
his  desire  in  162 2. 1  Donne's  paraphrase  of  the  five  opening 
chapters  of  the  Lamentations  of  Jeremiah  belongs  to  an  un- 
fortunate type  of  poetry,  the  fashion  of  which  was  encour- 
aged by  the  example  of  the  King ;  and  it  may  not  be  rash 
to  suggest  that  the  smoother  rhythm  which  Mr.  Gosse  notes 
in  his  poems  after  1615,  —  the  "abandonment  of  the  harsh 
and  eccentric  inversions  of  his  earlier  manner,  so  marked 
as  to  be  in  itself  an  indication  of  the  period  when  a  poem 
was  composed,"  2  —  was  in  some  degree  a  concession  to  the 
orthodox  taste  of  his  friends  at  court  and  his  royal  master. 

1  Gosse,  Life  and  Letters  of  John  Donne,  Vol.  II,  p.  161. 

2  Ibid.,  Vol.  II,  p.  76. 


VI 

POETS  IN  THE  ENGLISH  COURT,  1603-1625 

"He  leades  the  lawlesse  poets  of  our  times, 
To  smoother  cadence,  to  exacter  rimes." 

—  Sir  John  Beaumont,  To  the  Glorious 
Memory  of  .  .  .  King  James. 

Of  the  two  writers  considered  in  the  preceding  chapter, 
Barclay  held  the  rank  of  a  groom  of  the  privy  chamber,  and 
Donne,  according  to  Walton,  was  one  of  the  King's  chap- 
lains-in-ordinary.  In  general,  patronage  during  the  reign 
—  aside  from  small  gifts  for  dedications  —  was  distributed 
in  this  way,  either  by  means  of  a  pension  or  a  place  in  one 
of  the  households  into  which  the  court  was  divided.  The 
royal  family  lived  much  apart ;  the  establishments  of  the 
King  and  the  Queen,  of  Prince  Henry  (prior  to  his  death,  No- 
vember 6,  1612),  and  of  Prince  Charles  (after  his  creation, 
November  4,  1616),  were  distinct  from  each  other,  and 
separate  accounts  were  kept  of  wages,  fees,  annuities,  and 
similar  disbursals.  A  pension  or  even  a  nominal  position 
in  one  of  the  households  meant  that  the  holder,  if  he  were 
a  man  of  letters,  would  regard  its  head  as  his  special  patron, 
to  whom  tribute  in  the  form  of  verse  or  dedication  might 
properly  be  directed,  and  would  be  in  a  kind  of  family  re- 
lationship with  others  in  the  same  service. 

THE  COURT  OF  PRINCE  HENRY 

Prince  Henry's  household  was  established  immediately 
after  his  arrival  from  Scotland,  and  before  the  end  of  1603 
numbered  one  hundred  forty-one  members,  fifty-six  above 

Ixvii 


Ixviii 

stairs  and  eighty-five  below.1  At  its  head  was  Sir  Thomas 
Chaloner,  formerly  an  English  agent  abroad,  and  in  Scot- 
land during  the  winter  preceding  the  death  of  Elizabeth. 
He  was  a  gentleman  of  scholarly  parts,  author  of  one  of  the 
elegies  in  Sylvester's  Lachryma  Lachrymarum  on  the  death 
of  Henry,  and  in  his  later  years  interested  especially  in 
scientific  studies.  Adam  Newton,  the  Prince's  tutor,  acted 
as  secretary ;  and  Sir  David  Murray,  who  like  others  of  his 
kindred  seems  to  have  possessed  both  practical  and  poetical 
talents,  was  groom  of  the  stole  and  keeper  of  the  privy 
purse. 

It  was  the  King's  wish,  expressed  to  Chaloner  when  he 
first  signed  his  book,  that  "  the  forme  of  the  Prince's  house 
should  rather  imitate  a  colledge  then  a  court,"  2  by  which  he 
must  have  meant  that  it  should  be  given  to  scholarly  pur- 
suits and  composed  in  part  of  students  and  men  of  culture. 
To  this  policy  may  be  due  in  some  measure  his  son's  repu- 
tation as  a  friend  of  the  arts,  though  as  he  grew  older  the 
Prince  himself  showed  the  benefits  of  his  excellent  training 
by  a  personal  interest  in  literature  and  by  the  expenditure 
of  large  sums  for  books  and  pictures. 

Another  reason  for  the  modern  favorable  opinion  of  the 
Prince  in  this  respect  is  the  preservation  of  a  detailed 
record  of  all  his  gifts,  purchases,  and  other  expenditures 
during  the  last  four  years  of  his  life.  These  are  contained 
in  two  account  books  of  Sir  David  Murray,  one  among  the 
Declared  Accounts,  Pipe  Office,  Roll  2794,  and  the  other 
among  the  Exchequer  Accounts,  Bundle  433,  No.  8.  The 
first  of  these,  entitled  "The  Accompte  of  the  Money  Ex- 
pended by  Sir  David  Murray  K*  Reaper  of  the  Privie 
Purse  to  the  late  Noble  Prynce  Henry,  Prynce  of  Wales, 
from  the  first  of  October  1610  to  the  sixth  of  November 

1  T.  Birch,  Life  of  Henry  Prince  of  Wales,  London,  1760,  p.  32.     Its  size 
increased  rapidly,  until  at  the  Prince's  creation  in  1610  there  were  426  in  the 
household,  297  with  wages  and  129  without  (Archeologia,  Vol.  XII,  p.  8). 
Positions  were  often  bartered  and  distributed  without  much  regard  for  the 
wishes  of  Henry  or  his  immediate  guardians. 

2  An  Account  of  the  Revenues  of  .  .  .  Prince  Henry,  Archeologia,  Vol.  XV, 

P.  22. 


Ixix 

1612  (the  daye  of  the  decease  of  the  said  Prynce)  as  lyke- 
wise  for  certaine  paymentes  made  after  the  deathe  of  the 
saide  Prynce  in  the  monethes  of  -November  and  December 
1612,"  is  given  I  think  completely,  though  with  changes 
in  the  order  and  errors  in  the  amounts  of  the  payments,  in 
Cunningham's  Extracts  from  the  Accounts  of  the  Revels  at 
Court.1  It  is  a  pleasant  and  illuminating  record  of  the 
Prince's  pastimes  and  studies,  his  expenditures  for  jewels, 
horses,  plays,  tiltings,  books  and  paintings,  "guyftes  and 
rewardes."  The  chief  items  of  literary  interest  are  gifts  of 
£30  to  "Mr.  Owen  the  latyne  poett,"  of  £10  to  "Mr.  Cory- 
att,"  and  pensions  to  "Mr.  Silvester  at  xx  li.  per  ann.  [for 
two  years]  .  .  .  xl  li.,"  and  to  "Mr.  Drayton  a  poett  for 
one  yeare  .  .  .  x  li."  2  It  need  not  cause  surprise  that  the 
payments  for  tennis  balls  were  over  three  times  as  great  as 
the  sums  spent  in  support  of  literature ;  it  might  be  shown 
that  the  expenditures  of  his  royal  father  for  his  "privie 
buckehoundes  "  during  any  one  year  would  have  kept  alive 
all  the  worthy  poets  in  London  for  the  same  length  of  time/ 
The  second  of  Murray's  books,  preserved  among  the 
Exchequer  Accounts,  bears  the  heading,  "The  Accounts  of 
Sir  David  Murray,  Master  of  the  Robes  to  Prince  Henry, 
from  June  24,  1608  -  September  29,  1609."  So  far  as  the 
writer  is  aware,  no  extracts  from  this  have  been  printed. 
It  has  a  special  value,  since,  with  the  account  printed  by 
Cunningham,  it  is  the  fullest  record  of  the  patronage  of  any 
member  of  the  royal  family.  One  may  infer  from  it  that, 
if  we  had  Sir  John  Murray's  records  of  the  King's  privy 
purse,  we  should  find  frequent  payments  to  scholars  and 
needy  poets.  The  following  extracts  are  the  only  ones  in 
any  way  connected  with  books  or  writers :  — 

July  13,  1608.  To  one  who  presented  a  booke  to 
his  highnes  contayning  all  the  walkes  and 
parkes  of  Windsor 5  li. 

1  Shakespeare  Society,  1842,  Introd.,  pp.  vii-xviii. 

2  The  continuance  of  the  pensions  to  Sylvester  and  Drayton  is  recom- 
mended in  a  note  at  the  end  of  the  account. 


Ixx 

August    26,    1608.      To    one   who   presented    two 

bookes  to  his  highnes i  li.io  s. 

October  10,  1608.     To  Mr.  Browne 1  for  a  booke 

.  given  to  his  highnes       5  li. 

October  25,  1608.     To  a  poor  scholer  with  a  booke  to 

his  highnes 3  li. 

December  28,  1608.    To  Mr.  Silvester  yearlie  be  his 

highnes  comand 20  li. 

January  3,  1608  (09).     To  Mr.  Daniell 2  be  comand       7  li. 
January  5,  1608  (09).     To  one  Mr.  Cotton      .     .     . 
January  n,  1608  (09).    To  Mr.  Hall's 3  man  with  a     10  li. 

booke  to  his  highnes i  li. 

January    16,  1608    (09).     To  the  Schoolmaster  of 

Sant  Martins  who  presented  the  Kings  book  in 

emblems  and  pictures,  to  his  highnes  ...  5  li. 
February  i,  1608  (09).  For  the  great  Spanish  bible 

at  his  highnes  command 20  li. 

February  2,  1608  (09).     To  Sir  Thomas  Pavies  man 

with  bookes  to  his  highnes i  li.  10  s. 

April  27,  1609.     To  a  Duchman4  that  presented  a 

book  of  the  law  dedicated  to  his  highnes  .  .  .  5  li. 
June  14, 1609.  To  Daniell  the  Italian  by  command  i  li.  10  s. 
July  7,  1609.  To  the  Bishop  of  Chichesters  5  man 

with  a  booke  to  his  highnes i  li. 

1  This  could  hardly  have  been  William  Browne  the  poet,  who,  according 
to  the  accepted  date  of  his  birth,  was  at  this  time  not  over  eighteen.    The 
first  part  of  his  Britannia's  Pastorals,  however,  seems  to  have  been  written 
before  he  was  twenty.    His  elegy  on  the  death  of  Henry  was  published, 
with  another  by  Christopher  Brooke,  in  1613. 

2  Cf .  p.  Ixxv. 

8  Joseph  Hall,  Dean  of  Gloucester  (1617)  and  Bishop  of  Exeter  (1627), 
was  Henry's  favorite  chaplain.  His  Epistles  (1608)  were  dedicated  to  the 
Prince,  and  contain  letters  to  Chaloner,  Newton,  and  Murray.  His  Char- 
acters of  Vertues  and  Vices,  dedicated  to  Lords  Denny  and  Hay,  appeared  in 
the  same  year. 

4  Paul  Buys's  (Busius)  commentary  on  the  Pandects  was  dedicated  to  the 
Prince  and  sent  to  him  with  a  letter  dated  April  n,  1609.  (Birch,  Life  of 
Henry,  p.  158.) 

6  Launcelot  Andrewes.  His  Tortura  torli:  sive;  Ad  Matthcei  Torti  Librum 
Responsio,  in  answer  to  Cardinal  Bellarmine's  attack  on  James's  Apologie, 
appeared  in  this  year. 


Ixxi 

July  23,  1609.     To  Mr.  Cheek  for  a  booke  of  Em- 

blems1    ..............      3  li. 

Of  the  gifts  and  pensions  bestowed  in  the  years  1610-1612 
the  only  one  which  appears  in  this  earlier  record  is  Syl- 
vester's, the  payment  of  which  indicates  that  it  ran  over 
the  year  1608.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  it  was  granted 
still  earlier,  as  a  reward,  perhaps,  for  the  collected  edition 
of  his  translations  from  Du  Bartas,  which  appeared  in 
1605-1607  with  a  remarkable  apparatus  of  dedicatory 
sonnets  in  English,  French  and  Itj^an,  a  chorus  of  the 
muses,  and  a  series  of  cones,  pillars  ^and  other  geometrical 
forms  of  poetry  in  honor  of  the  King.2  After  Henry's  death, 
Sylvester  published  his  Lachrima  Lachrymarum  (1612), 
entered  in  the  Stationers'  Register  as  "A  Viall  of  house- 
hold teares  ...  by  his  highnes  fyrst  worst  Poett  and 
pensioner,"  3  and  containing  in  the  third  edition  elegies  by 
Donne,4  Sir  W.  Cornwallis,  Joseph  Hall,  Sir  Edw.  Herbert, 
Sir  Henry  Goodyer,  Geo.  Gerard,  S.  T.  C.  (Sir  Thomas 
Chaloner),  Henry  Burton  (Clerk  of  the  Closet),  and  other 
members  of  a  literary  group  which  was  composed  in  part  of 
gentlemen  of  the  Prince's  household.  To  the  Princess 


may  have  been  a  MS.  copy  of  a  book  entitled  Anagrammata  et 
Chron-Anagrammata  regia,  nunc  primum  in  hoc  forma  in  hicem  emissa,  Lon- 
don, 1613.  The  author  was  William  Cheeke,  who  took  the  degree  of  B.A. 
from  Oxford  in  1595.  (D.  N.  B.) 

2  The  opening  of  his  translation  of  the  Furies  has  a  characteristic  reference 
to  the  King's  earlier  version  :  — 

"...  But  yer  we  pass,  our  slender  Bark 
Must  here  strike  top-sails  to  a  Princely  Ark 
Which  keeps  these  Straights  :  Hee  hails  us  threatf  ully, 
Star-board  our  helm  ;  come  underneath  his  Lee. 

Vouchsafe  to  togh  us  at  your  Royall  Stern." 

3  Arber's  Transcripts,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  230. 

4  An  earlier  evidence  of  Donne's  connection  with  this  circle  is  given  by  the 
verses  he  contributed  to  Coryat's  Crudities  (1611).     Coryat  had  been  in  the 
household  and  dedicated  his  volume  to  the  Prince,  who  was  in  the  joke  of 
the  mock-laudatory  poems,  and  insisted  on  their  publication.    Donne  also 
sent  Prince  Henry  a  copy  of  The  Pseudo-Martyr,  accompanied  by  a  letter 
which  is  still  preserved  (MSS.  of  Marquis  of  Bath,  Hist.  MSS.  Comm.  Re- 
ports, III,  p.  196). 


Ixxii 

Elizabeth  Sylvester  later  dedicated  his  Little  Bartas  (1614), 
and  to  Prince  Charles  The  Parliament  of  Vertues  Royall 
(1614-1615)  and  Maiden's  Blush  (1620).  The  dedicatory 
sonnet  of  the  1614-1615  poem  ends  with  the  following 
picturesque  appeal :  — 

"You  you  alone  (Great  Prince)  with  Pities  Grace, 
Have  held  my  Chin  above  the  Waters  brinke : 
Hold  still,  alas  !   hold  stronger  or  I  sinke, 
Or  haile  me  up  into  som  safer  place, 
Som  Privie  Groo^.  som  Room  within  your  doores 
That,  as  my  Heart,  my  Harpe  may  all  be  yours." 

Peacham's  assertion  that  Sylvester  received  "little  or  no 
reward,  either  for  his  paines  or  dedications,"  1  if  true  at  all, 
can  be  true  only  of  this  later  period ;  the  poet  at  least  did 
not  fail  for  lack  of  perseverance. 

There  is  no  reference  to  the  poet  George  Chapman  in 
either  of  the  accounts,  a  fact  which  serves  to  illustrate  the 
incompleteness  of  the  data  they  furnish.  In  a  letter  of 
appeal  written  to  the  King  in  1613,  Chapman  states  that 
"serving  above  nine  yeares  the  late  Prince  Henry  in  place 
of  a  sewer  in  ordinary,"  he  had  been  "put  from  his  place 
under  Prince  Charles."  He  adds  that  having  "four  years 
attended  the  late  Prince,  he  was  commanded  to  continue  his 
Homer,"  the  1609  and  1611  editions  of  which  are  dedicated 
to  Henry.  Chapman's  name  should  thus  be  joined  to  those 
of  Coryat,  Sylvester,  Owen,  Lydyat,  Hall,  Drayton,  and 
Daniel  in  the  list  of  unequal  but  not  unrepresentative 
Jacobean  men  of  letters  who  were  under  the  Prince's  pat- 


ronage.2 


THE  COURT  OF  QUEEN  ANNE 


For  the  patronage  of  the  Queen,  evidence  similar  to  that 
in  Murray's  records  is  supplied  by  a  document  with  the 
heading,  Accounts  of  the  Queen's  Household  April-Jan. 

1  Truth  of  our  Times,  1638  (Sylvester's  Poems,  ed.  Grosart,  Introd., 
p.  xix).  z  Athenaeum,  April,  1901,  p.  433. 


Ixxiii 

1615  [16],  the  only  one  with  details  of  this  kind  which  the 
writer  has  found  among  the  household  accounts  of  James 
and  Anne.  Though  it  covers  a  period  of  less  than  a  year, 
this  gives  a  good  idea  of  the  character  of  the  Queen's  ex- 
penditures and  the  nature  of  her  tastes.  It  is  clear  that 
she  took  especial  pleasure  in  small  charities,  and  her  devo- 
tion to  music  is  shown  not  only  by  the  large  yearly  wages  of 
the  members  of  her  French  orchestra,  but  by  daily  gifts  to 
strolling  singers  and  musicians  of  every  description.  The 
following  are  the  only  items  of  literary  significance :  — 

Baltassar  Nardi,1  Italian  poett  for  so  much  paid  and 
given  unto  him  by  warrant  signed  by  her  highnes  dated  at 
Greenwch  the  xxiiith  of  November  1615  .  .  .  .  xxx  li. 

Ellis  Worth,  one  of  her  Mate  plaiers  for  so  much  paid 
unto  him  in  the  behalfe  of  himselfe  and  the  rest  of  his  fel- 
lowes  of  that  companie  for  one  plaie  acted  before  her  Matie 
Queenes  Court  the  xviith  of  December  1615.  By  warrant 
.  .  .  viith  of  Januarie,  1615 2  x  li. 

John  Heminge  one  of  the  Kinge  Mate  plaiers  for  as  much 
paid  unto  him  in  the  behalfe  of  himselfe  and  the  rest  of  his 
fellowes  of  that  companie  for  one  plaie  acted  before  her 
Matie  at  Queenes  Court  on  St  Thomas  daye  at  night  being 
the  xxitb  of  December  1615.  By  warrant  .  .  .  xxiith  of 
Januarie  1615  [16]  ........  ;.  ...  x  li. 

John  Florio 3  one  of  the  groomes  of  the  Privie  Chamber 
to  her  Matie  for  so  much  paid  unto  him  and  allowed  for 
money  by  him  disbursed  for  diverse  necessaries  for  her  Matie 
[Nov.  i,  1614  —  Nov.  i,  1615,  in  all]  .  .  .  .  vii  li.  v  s. 

1  Nardi  was  a  theologian  as  well  as  poet,  and  author  of  a  defense  of  Roman 
supremacy,  Expunctiones  locorum  falsorum  de  papatu  romano,  Paris,  1616, 
in  refutation  of  the  writings  of  Marcantonio  de  Dominis,  Bishop  of  Spalato 
(Tiraboschi,  Storia  detta  Letteratura  Italiana,  1780,  p.  79).    The  latter  was 
also  in  England,  and  was  rewarded  for  his  desertion  of  the  Roman  church  by 
the  Deanery  of  Windsor  (Docquets,  June,  1619)  and  the  Mastership  of  the 
Savoy.     The  patronage  extended  to  the  two  writers  illustrates  the  diver- 
gence between  the  Queen  and  King  in  matters  of  religion. 

2  Neither  this  nor  the  following  performance  is  recorded  in  the  lists  of 
Fleay  or  Murray  (English  Dramatic  Companies). 

3  After  the  Queen's  death  Florio  was  granted  a  pension  of  £100  (Co/.  S.  P. 
Dom.  January  21,  1620). 


Ixxiv 

John  Florio  Groome  of  the  privie  chamber  to  her  Matie 
for  his  Annuitie  or  pension  at  c  li.  and  for  one  whole  yeare 
ended  at  Michmas  1615  aforesaid  and  here  allowed  and 
paid  by  virtue  of  her  Maties  1'res  patente  hereof  to  him  made 
dated  at  Whitehall  the  vth  of  August  Anno  sixo  Re.  Ja- 
cobi c  li. 

Samuell  Daniell  Groome  of  the  said  privie  chamber  to  her 
Matie  as  well  for  his  wages  at  xiii  li.  vi  s.  viii  d.  p.  anno  as 
for  his  liverie  at  vi  li.  xiii  s.  iiii  d.  p.  anno  due  for  one  whole 
yeare  ended  at  Michas  1615  aforesaid,  wth  xl  li.  of  increase 
and  here  allowed  and  paid  as  well  according  to  the  orders 
and  directions  before  mentioned  as  also  by  a  warrant  signed 
by  her  highnes  and  dated  the  day  of  [blank]  .  .  .  Ix  li. 

Sir  Robert  Aiton  knight  her  Mate  Secretarie  and  Maister 
of  Requeste  for  his  wages  at  c  li.  p.  anno  for  one  whole  yeare 
ended  at  Michmas  1615 c  li. 

Aytoun,  who  had  written  Latin  verses  on  the  King's 
accession,  and  carried  the  Premonition  abroad  in  1609,  was 
the  successor  of  Sir  William  Fowler  as  the  Queen's  secretary. 
He  held  the  post  from  October  20,  I6I2,1  until  the  Queen's 
death,  and  afterward  received  a  pension  of  £500 2  and  under 
Charles  the  same  position  in  the  household  of  Henrietta 
Maria. 

The  service  of  the  poet  Daniel  under  Queen  Anne  was  of 
longer  duration,  extending  from  the  time  of  her  arrival  in 
England  until  her  death.  His  name  first  appears  in  this 
connection  in  a  license,  dated  January  31,  1604,  to  Edward 
Kirkham  and  others  to  train  up  a  company  "to  be  called 
Children  of  the  Revelle  to  the  Queen,"  in  which  it  is  stipu- 
lated that  no  plays  be  "presented  by  them  before  the  Queen 
or  publicly  acted  but  by  the  allowance  of  Samuell  Daniel, 
whom  her  Maties  pleasure  is  to  appoint  for  that  purpose."  3 
As  early  as  1607  he  was  in  possession  of  his  place  as  a  groom 

1  Deputy  Keeper's  Reports,  II,  p.  79. 

2  "...  in  consideration  of  his  service  to  his  Matie  and  the  late  Queen 
Anne."  —  Docquets  (Cal.  S.  P.  Dom.,  July,  1620). 

1  Devon,  Issues  of  the  Exchequer  in  the  Reign  of  James  I,  1836. 


Ixxv 

of  the  Queen's  chamber,  with  the  annual  fee  of  £60. 
Among  his  pieces  written  for  the  Queen  are  the  masque 
entitled  The  Vision  of  the  Twelve  Goddesses,  presented  Janu- 
ary 8,  1603 ;  The  Queen's  Arcadia,  presented  at  Oxford, 
August  30,  1605,  before  the  King  and  Queen;  Tethys  Fes- 
tival, June  5,  1610;  and  Hymen's  Triumph,  February  3, 
1614,  before  the  King  by  the  Queen's  Court  at  the  marriage 
of  Lord  Roxburghe.  In  the  Accounts,  Daniel  is  the  only 
groom  with  an  increase  in  addition  to  his  regular  wage,  and 
almost  the  only  one  who  receives  no  reimbursement  for 
payments  made  in  behalf  of  his  mistress.  Apparently, 
therefore,  his  position  was  nominal  and  did  not  require 
constant  attendance.  It  is  significant  that  his  name  appears, 
as  it  is  here  given,  just  after  that  of  his  friend  Florio. 

At  this  point  it  is  necessary  to  return  to  two  items  in 
Murray's  accounts  of  the  Prince's  household,  one  January 
3,  1609,  "To  Mr.  Daniell  ...  7  li.,"  and  the  other  June  14, 
1609,  "To  Daniell  the  Italian  .  .  .  i  li.  10  s."  The  first 
of  these  undoubtedly  refers  either  to  the  poet  or  to  his 
brother,  John  Daniel,  the  musician,  who  was  later  master 
of  the  Queen's  choir  boys  of  Bristol.1  The  second  might 
be  passed  over  as  insignificant,  especially  since  there  are 
numerous  similar  payments  to  poor  scholars,  artists  of  all 
kinds  and  degrees,  and  in  one  case  to  "an  Italian  jugler," 
were  there  not  other  evidence  of  considerable  weight  to 
connect  it  with  the  poet. 

In  the  first  place,  there  is  his  close  friendship  with  the 
Italian  language-master  John  Florio.  Two  of  his  sonnets 
written  for  Florio's  works  are  addressed  "To  my  deare 
friend  ..."  and  a  third  "To  my  deare  friend  and  brother. 
.  .  ."  Florio,  it  will  be  recalled,  was  the  son  of  a  Florentine 
Protestant  who  came  to  England  shortly  before  the  reign  of 
Edward  VI.  The  term  "brother"  no  doubt  refers  merely 
to  their  fellowship  in  the  Queen's  service;  but  it  seems 
likely  that  the  poet  helped  Florio  into  this  service,  and  that 

1  "A  license  unto  John  Daniel  to  form  a  company  of  children  to  be  called 
The  Children  of  her  Matle  Royall  Chamber  of  Bristol.  ..."  —  Docquets, 
June,  1615.  Another  license  was  granted  to  Daniel  and  others  in  May,  1622. 


Ixxvi 

their  friendship  was   the  result  of  family  intimacy   and 
common  race. 

Other  of  Daniel's  friends  were  Italians.  In  Wright's 
Elizabeth  and  her  Times  (Vol.  II,  p.  315),  we  hear  of  a 
Samuel  Daniel  abroad  and  in  the  company  of  an  Italian 
doctor,  Julio  Marino.  His  Description  of  Beauty  translated 
out  of  Marino  can  hardly  be  connected  with  the  doctor, 
since  the  poet's  given  name  was  Giambattista,  but  it  serves 
to  illustrate  Daniel's  knowledge  of  Italian  and  interest  in 
Italian  literature.  That  he  travelled  in  Italy  in  his  youth  is 
shown  by  the  headings  of  two  sonnets  in  the  Delia  sequence, 
"At  the  Author's  going  into  Italic"  (sonnet LII),  and  "This 
Sonnet  was  made  at  the  Author's  beeing  in  Italie"  (sonnet 
LI).  His  first  published  work,  entitled  Imprese,  was  a 
translation  of  a  Latin  tract  on  crests  and  seals  by  the  con- 
temporary Italian  historian,  Paulus  Jovius.  His  friendship 
with  the  poet  Guarini  is  indicated  by  the  following  sonnet 
addressed  to  Sir  Edward  Dimmock,  Daniel's  first  patron, 
on  an  English  translation  of  Guarini's  77  Pastor  Fido :  — 

"  I  do  rejoyce  learned  and  worthy  Knight, 
That  by  the  hand  of  thy  kinde  Country-man 
(This  painfull  and  industrious  Gentleman) 
Thy  deare  esteem'd  Guarini  comes  to  light ; 
Who  in  thy  love  I  know  tooke  great  delight 
As  thou  in  his,  who  now  in  English  can 
Speake  as  good  English  as  Italian, 
And  here  enjoyes  the  grace  of  his  owne  right. 
Though  I  remember  he  hath  oft  imbas'd 
Unto  us  both  the  vertues  of  the  North, 
Saying  our  costes  were  with  no  measures  grac'd, 
Nor  barbarous  tongues  could  any  verse  bring  forth. 
I  would  he  sawe  his  owne,  or  knew  our  store, 
Whose  spirits  can  yield  as  much,  and  if  not  more."  l 

Lines  9-12  of  the  sonnet  refer  clearly  to  conversation  with 
Guarini,  and  apparently  to  a  personal  friendship.     Fur- 

1  Works,  ed.  Grosart,  Vol.  I,  p.  263. 


Ixxvii 

thermore,  though  "our  costes  "  in  line  n  means  England, 
it  seems  very  unlikely  that  "thy  kinde  Country-man"  in 
the  second  line  would  have  been  written  by  one  who  had 
every  reason  to  consider  the  English  translator  quite  as 
much  his  own  countryman  as  Dimmock's. 

Sidney  or  a  dozen  other  Elizabethans  might  be  proved 
Italians  by  such  evidence  as  this.  But  it  should  be  re- 
membered that  Daniel's  brother  and  perhaps  his  father 
were  musicians  in  an  age  when  most  musicians  were  for- 
eigners; Ferrebosco,  Bassano,  Lupo,  and  others  were  all 
Italians.  The  name  Daniel,  or  Daniell,  should  cause  no 
difficulty,  since  it  was  borne  by  the  Italian  mentioned  in 
the  payment,  and  since  it  differs  but  slightly  from  the  Italian 
forms  Daniele,  Danielli,  or  Danielle. 

In  short,  the  value  of  the  evidence  depends  on  its  cumu- 
lative effect.  We  have  a  payment  to  an  Italian  named 
Daniel  from  the  same  source  and  not  long  after  a  payment 
to  the  poet ;  we  know  that  the  latter  came  of  a  family  of 
musicians,  that  he  traveled  in  Italy,  translated  from  Italian 
writers,  spoke  the  language,  and  had  as  his  best  friend  a 
man  of  the  same  stock.  In  the  absence  of  exact  informa- 
tion regarding  his  birth  and  parentage,  these  seem  sufficient 
reasons  for  assuming  that  the  styh'stic  purity  of  "well- 
languaged"  Daniel  was  that  of  a  writer  for  whom  English 
was  not  strictly  the  mother  tongue. 

If  this  be  true,  it  may  help  to  explain  the  statement  of  a 
German  traveler  in  England  in  1615  that  the  Queen's  house- 
hold, with  the  exception  of  the  secretary  and  comptroller, 
was  largely  French  and  Italian.1  The  motive  for  such  a 
choice  of  servants  would  be  her  half  open  acceptance  of  the 
Catholic  faith.  Daniel  himself,  according  to  Wood,  was 
"in  animo  catholicus." 

THE    COURT    OF    KING   JAMES 

During  his  reign  in  England,  as  has  already  been  pointed 
out,  James  took  no  very  active  interest  in  poetry,  being 

1  Zur  Geschichte  Jacob  I,  Oppelin,  1857,  p.  15. 


Ixxviii 

content,  apparently,  that  his  reputation  should  rest  on  the 
accomplishments  of  bis  greener  years.  He  and  Alexander 
still  at  times  pottered  with  the  psalms,  but,  aside  from 
these,  only  two  or  three  fragments  of  his  verse  are  of  a  later 
date  than  1603.  Even  the  collection  of  poems  now  printed, 
though  perhaps  intended  for  publication  at  the  same  time 
as  the  folio  volume  of  his  prose,  does  not  seem  to  have  been 
generally  known  during  his  life. 

Obviously,  therefore,  whatever  influence  the  King  may 
have  had  on  the  trend  of  English  poetry  was  not  by  direct 
example,  but  by  the  effect  of  his  personal  likes  and  dislikes 
on  the  taste  of  the  court  and  on  the  work  of  writers  whose 
verse  was  intended  partly  to  meet  his  approval.  It  would 
of  course  be  absurd  to  attribute  to  any  single  influence,  and 
in  particular  to  an  influence  so  limited  as  that  of  the  King, 
fashions  so  widespread  as  those  of  the  so-called  "  meta- 
physical school,"  which  prevailed  during  his  reign;  and,  as 
will  appear,  though  his  verse  and  prose  have  some  of  the 
defects  of  this  school,  his  later  views  were  distinctly  op- 
posed to  its  subtlety  of  thought  and  rough  obscurity  of  style. 
But  on  the  other  hand,  the  opposite  tendency,  toward 
more  familiar  themes  and  a  more  conventional  treatment  of 
metre  and  diction,  shown  especially  in  a  preference  for  the 
closed  and  regular  or  '  classical '  pentameter  couplet,  devel- 
oped chiefly  among  a  group  of  court  poets,  who  catered  to 
a  small  body  of  courtly  readers  and  who  would  have  special 
reason  to  make  their  verse  conform  to  the  tastes  of  royalty. 
A  priori,  at  least,  there  is  nothing  unreasonable  in  the  postu- 
late that  in  the  reign  of  James,  as  in  France  during  the  same 
period  l  and  later  in  England  during  the  Restoration,  the 
taste  of  King  and  court  had  a  definite  and  marked  influence 
on  contemporary  literature. 

Among  English  poets  who  sought  court  favor,  Ben  Jon- 
son's  way  was  made  easy  by  his  Scottish  extraction,  scholar- 

1  "L'ordre  et  la  discipline,  1'exacte  probite  que  le  roi  s'efforcait  d'intro- 
duire  dans  les  affaires  et  dans  les  mceurs,  Malherbe  cut  comme  la  mission  de 
les  faire,  lui,  introduire  pour  le  premier  fois  dans  1'empire  du  caprice  meme, 
et  de  la  fantasie  (Brunetiere,  "  La  Reforme  de  Malherbe,"  Revue  des  Deux 
Mondes,  December  i,  1892). 


Ixxix 

ship,  and  a  bluff  joviality  of  disposition,  not  by  any  means 
above  gross  flattery.  His  five  years  spent  in  the  household 
of  d'Aubigny,  the  King's  cousin,  may  be  considered  a  sign 
of  this  favor,  as  well  as  the  pension  of  one  hundred  marks 
(£100  after  1630)  and  the  tierce  of  canary  which  he  received 
from  1616  until  his  death.  The  story  that  the  King  would 
have  knighted  the  poet,  had  the  latter  been  willing,1  has 
every  mark  of  probability  in  its  favor.  Jonson's  duties  as 
deviser  of  masques  must  have  required  frequent  attendance 
at  court  and  on  royal  progresses ;  and  if  the  King  retained 
as  lively  an  interest  in  these  entertainments  as  he  had  for- 
merly shown  in  Scotland,  he  would  have  been  eager  to 
discuss  and  plan  them  with  his  poet  laureate. 

Casual  remarks  of  the  latter  recorded  in  Drummond's 
Conversations  suggest  such  intercourse,  though  no  great 
respect  on  the  part  of  the  poet  for  the  opinions  of  his  sov- 
ereign. On  one  occasion,  according  to  Jonson,  the  King 
expressed  the  view  that  "Sir  P.  Sidney  was  no  poet. 
Neither  did  he  see  ever  any  verses  in  England  equal  to  the 
scullor's  [Taylor  the  Water  Poet]."  2  The  natural  inference 
from  this  is  that  James  was  no  critic,  but  it  may  well  be 
rather  that  the  remark  was  not  intended  seriously  or  that 
Jonson  was  a  malicious  reporter.  There  is  abundant  evi- 
dence that  Sidney  was  the  one  English  poet  of  the  preced- 
ing generation  to  whom  the  King  felt  free  to  pay  tribute. 
Spenser's  treatment  of  Mary  and  her  son  in  The  Faerie 
Queene  made  him  impossible,  and  who  else  was  there  to  set 
over  against  Ronsard  and  Du  Bartas  and  the  long  line  of 
Italian  poets  ?  According  to  Henry  Leigh's  report  of  an 
interview  with  James,  September,  1599,  the  latter  "co- 
mended  Sir  Philip  Sydney  for  the  best  and  swetest  wryter 
that  ever  he  knewe  —  surely  it  seemeth  he  loved  him 
muche."  3  It  is  noteworthy  in  this  connection  that  Drum- 
mond  pronounced  Spenser's  Amoretti  "childish,"  but  con- 

1  Jonson's  Works,  ed.  Cunningham,  Introd.,  p.  cxx. 

2  Ibid.,  Vol.  IX,  p.  398. 

3  Calendar  of  Border  Papers,  Vol.  II,  p.  649.     Cf .  also  James's  epitaph  on 
Sidney  (XXX),  and  note.    The  second  edition  of  the  Arcadia  was  published 
in  Edinburgh  in  1599. 


Ixxx 

sidered  Sidney's  Arcadia  "the  most  excellent  work  that,  in 
my  Judgement,  hath  been  written  in  any  language  that  I 
understand."  l 

On  another  occasion,  Ben  told  the  King  plainly  that 
"  his  master,  M.  G.  Buchanan,  had  corrupted  his  eare  when 
young,  and  learned  him  to  sing  verses  when  he  should  have 
read  them."  2  One  may  infer  that  there  had  been  a  dis- 
cussion of  the  old  question  as  to  whether  verse  stands  by 
metre  or  sense,  in  which  the  King's  position  was  not  so 
ill-taken  as  in  his  remarks  on  English  writers.  One  of 
Jonson's  epigrams,  To  King  James  (No.  IV),  plays  on  the 
familiar  theme  of  his  excellence  as  prince  and  poet :  — 

"How,  best  of  kings,  dost  thou  a  scepter  bear  ? 
How,  best  of  poets,  dost  thou  laurel  wear  ? 
But  two  things  rare  the  Fates  had  in  their  store, 
And  gave  thee  both,  to  show  they  could  no  more. 
For  such  a  poet,  while  thy  days  were  green, 
Thou  wert,  as  chief  of  them  are  said  t'  have  been. 
And  such  a  prince  thou  art,  we  daily  see, 
As  chief  of  those  still  promise  they  will  be. 
Whom  should  my  muse  then  fly  to,  but  the  best 
Of  kings,  for  grace ;  of  poets,  for  my  test." 

Tribute  of  this  sort  may  be  discounted;  but  it  is  more 
significant  that  the  copy  of  the  Poeticall  Exercises  at  vacant 
houres  which  Gillies  used  in  preparing  his  reprint  contained 
the  inscription,  — 

"Tanquam  Explorator. 
BEN.  JONSON." 

—  and  numerous  corrections  of  spelling  in  the  handwriting 
of  the  poet.3  "I  am  arrived  safely,"  wrote  Jonson  to  Drum- 
mond  (May  10,  1619)  on  his  return  from  Scotland,  "with  a 
most  Catholick  Welcome,  and  my  Reports  not  unacceptable 
to  His  Majesty :  He  professed  (I  thank  God)  some  Joy  to 

1  Works,  ed.  1711,  p.  161.     For  his  borrowings  from  Sidney,  cf.  Kastner, 
Modern  Language  Review,  January,  1911. 

2  Jonson's  Works,  Vol.  IX,  p.  407.  3  Gillies,  Preface,  p.  xviii. 


Ixxxi 

see  me,  and  is  pleased  to  hear  of  the  Purpose  of  my  Book." l 
This  last  was  no  doubt  the 

"...  journey  into  Scotland  sung, 
With  all  the  adventures,2 

—  which  was  destroyed  by  fire  with  other  of  his  manuscripts. 
On  Drummond's  verses  his  critic  in  the  Conversations  passed 
the  general  censure  that  "They  were  all  good,  especially 
my  'Epitaph  of  the  Prince,'  save  that  they  smelled  too 
much  of  the  schools  .  .  .  yett  that  he  wished  for  pleasing 
the  King,  that  Piece  of  Forth  Feasting  had  been  his  own."  3 
The  last  remark  has  a  twofold  significance,  since  while  it 
illustrates,  with  the  ones  preceding,  the  regard  attached  to 
the  good  opinion  of  the  King,  it  suggests  also  the  kind  of 
poem  which  might  be  expected  to  win  it.     Forth  Feasting, 
written  for  the  King's  return  to  Edinburgh,  is  not  more 
grossly  flattering  than  a  hundred  others,  and  is  a  model  of 
smoothly  flowing,  neatly  confined  couplets. 

Flattery  somewhat  more  subtle  than  Jonson's,  and  ad- 
ditional evidence  that  the  King's  verse  and  criticism  had 
some  circulation  in  England,  is  contained  in  a  poem  by  Sir 
John  Beaumont,  consisting  of  sixty-six  carefully  polished 
lines  To  his  late  Maiesty,  concerning  the  True  Forme  of  Eng- 
lish Poetry.*  The  piece  need  not  be  considered  insincere, 
since  the  views  expressed  are  in  accord  with  the  author's 
practice  in  his  early  and  later  verse,  but  it  is  clear,  never- 
theless, that  he  had  just  been  reading  the  Reulis  and  cautelis, 
and  sought  to  echo  in  his  tribute  the  opinions  there  set 
forth.  His  source  is  referred  to  in  the  tenth  line,  — 

"When  your  judicious  rules  have  been  my  guide," 

—  and  is  evident  enough  in  his  vague  allusions  to  "colors" 
and  "flowing,"  with  which  in  the  sense  of  rhyme  and  metre 

1  Drummond's  Works,  ed.  1711,  p.  154. 
1  An  Execration  upon  Vulcan,  11.  98-99. 

3  Drummond,  p.  226. 

4  Poems,  ed.  Grosart,  p.  118.     The  piece  was  of  course  written  before  the 
King's  death,  the  title  being  added  in  the  first  edition  of  1629. 


Ixxxii 

he  was  perhaps  unfamiliar.    The  following  are  the  more 
important  parallels :  — 

R.  and  C.,  Chap.  I.  "That  you  "keip  just  cullouris"  ;  i.e. 
avoid  rhyming  with  the  same  word,  rhyme  on  the  accented 
syllable  and  from  there  to  the  end,  and  avoid  rhymes  of 
three  or  even  two  syllables,  the  last  of  which  are  "eatin  in 
the  pronounceing."  Beaumont  repeats  this  idea,  but  ap- 
pears uncertain  about  the  meaning  of  the  word  "cul- 
louris" :  — 

"Vouchsafe  to  be  our  Master,  and  to  teach 
Your  English  poets  to  direct  their  lines, 
To  mixe  their  colours,  and  expresse  their  signes." 

-11.  4-6.  - 

"  Our  Saxon  shortness  hath  peculiar  grace, 
In  choice  of  words,  fit  for  the  ending  place, 

These  must  not  be  with  disproportion  lame, 
Nor  should  an  eccho  still  repeate  the  same." 

—  U.  39-44. 

Chap.  II.  That 'y°u  keep  "the  flowing";  i.e.  avoid 
variant  feet  and  other  irregularities.  This  must  have 
suggested :  — 

"  When  verses  like  a  milky  torrent  flow, 
They  equall  temper  in  the  poet  show." 

—  11.  13-14. 

"On  halting  feet  the  ragged  poem  goes 
With^accents,  neither  fitting  verse  nor  prose." 

—  11.  23-24. 

Chap.  III.  Avoid  padding,  and  "frame  your  wordis  and 
sentencis  according  to  the  mater."  A  passage  of  similar 
import  occurs  in  the  Basilikon  Doron,  where  the  Prince 
is  warned  against  "book-language  and  pen  and  ink-horn 


Ixxxiii 

termis,  and  least  of  all  mignard  and  effeminate  tennis." 
Further:  "If  ye  would  write  worthily  choose  subjects 
worthy  of  you,  that  be  not  full  of  vanity  but  of  virtue, 
eschewing  obscurity,  and  delighting  ever  to  be  plain  and 
sensible.  And  if  ye  writis  in  Verse,  remember  that  it  is  not 
the  principal  part  of  a  poem  to  rime  right  and  flow  well 
with  many  pretty  wordis,  but  the  chief  commendation  of  a 
poem  is,  that  when  the  verse  shall  be  shaken  sundrie  in 
prose,  it  shall  be  found  so  rich  in  quicke  inventions,  and 
poetick  flowers,  and  in  faire  and  pertinent  comparisons,  as 
it  shall  retaine  the  lustre  of  a  Poem,  although  in  prose." 
Compare  with  this  the  following  lines  from  Beaumont :  — 

•      'Pure  phrase,  fit  epithet,  a  sober  care 

Of  metaphors,  descriptions  cleare,  yet  rare, 
Similitudes  contracted  smooth  and  round, 
Not  vext  by  learning,  but  with  nature  crown'd." 

—  11.  51-54. 

"To  easie  use  of  that  peculiar  gift, 
Which  poets  in  their  raptures  hold  most  deare, 
When  actions  by  their  lively  sound  appeare." 

—  11.  60-62 

"For  though  in  termes  of  art  their  skill  they  close, 
And  joy  in  darksome  words  as  well  as  those  : 
They  yet  have  perfect  sense  more  pure  and  cleare 
Than  envious  Muses,  which  sad  garlands  weare 
Of  dusky  clouds,  their  strange  conceits  to  hide." 

— 11.  27-31. 

After  the  third  chapter,  James  has  four  shorter  ones  on 
comparisons  and  ornaments,  and  ends  with  an  interesting 
list  of  "the  kyndis  of  versis."  It  is  notable  that  while  he 
condemns  the  pentameter  couplet  as  "ryme  quhilk  servis 
onely  for  lang  histories,  and  yet  are  nocht  verse,"  Beaumont 
considers  it  the  best  of  metres  and  in  his  published  verse 
uses  it  almost  exclusively :  — 


Ixxxiv 

"The  relish  of  the  Muse  consists  in  rime, 
One  verse  must  meete  another  like  a  chime. 

In  many  changes  these  may  be  exprest : 

But  those  that  joyne  most  simply,  run  the  best." 

-11.  37-49- 

In  his  practice,  the  poet  conforms  to  these  conservative 
precepts  by  the  avoidance  of  the  metrical  irregularities  and 
to  a  lesser  extent  of  the  conceitfulness  of  his  fellow-poets. 
"  No  one,  indeed,"  says  Mr.  Gosse,  "  was  in  1602  writing 
the  heroic  couplet  so  '  correctly '  as  the  author  of  the  Meta- 
morphosis [of  Tobacco]"  l  This  early  piece  was  published 
anonymously,  but  there  is  little  doubt  of  Beaumont's 
authorship. 

It  has,  I  think,  not  been  pointed  out  that  his  historical 
poem  entitled  Bosworth  Field,  his  lost  Crown  of  Thorns,2  all 
of  his  so-called  "Royal  and  Courtly  Poems,"  in  short,  the 
greater  number  of  the  pieces  gathered  together  in  the  first 
(posthumous)  edition  of  1629,  were  written  much  later,  dur- 
ing the  closing  years  of  James's  reign,  when  the  good  will 
of  his  kinsman  George  Villiers,  Duke  of  Buckingham,  drew 
him  out  of  his  long  retirement  and  led  him  to  seek  favor 
at  court  with  his  pen  :  — 

"My  Muse,  which  tooke  from  you  her  life  and  light 
Sate  like  a  weary  wretch,  whome  suddaine  night 

1  The  Jacobean  Poets,  p.  107. 

2  This  was  dedicated  to  the  Earl  of  Southampton,  who  was  released  from 
imprisonment  in  1621  and  died  in  1624.     Cf.  Beaumont's  Elegy:  — 

"He  is  a  father  to  my  crowne  of  thornes  : 
Now  since  his  death  how  can  I  ever  look, 
Without  some  teares,  upon  that  orphan  booke?" 

The  suggestion  may  be  ventured  that  the  poem  had  some  connection  with 
the  King's  Meditation  on  Matthew  xxvii.  27-29,  with  sub-title  A  paterne 
for  a  Kings  inauguration  (1620),  a  lengthy  sermon  and  application  of  the 
narrative  of  Christ's  coronation  by  Pilate.  A  monarch,  writes  James, 
"must  not  expect  a  soft  and  easie  croune,  but  a  croune  full  of  thornie  cares 
yea  of  platted  and  intricate  cares.  .  .  ." 


Ixxxv 

Had  overspred :  your  absence  casting  downe 
The  flow'rs  and  Sirens'  feathers  from  her  crowne ; 
Your  favour  first  th'  anointed  head  inclines 
To  heare  my  rurall  songs  and  reade  my  lines : 
Your  voyce,  my  reede  with  lofty  musick  reares 
To  offer  trembling  songs  to  princely  eares."  1 

Buckingham's  mother  (created  Countess  of  Buckingham 
in  1618)  was  of  the  Beaumonts  of  Cole-Orton,  and  thus 
connected  with  the  family  of  the  poet.  The  latter,  though 
Grosart  speaks  of  his  Puritanism,  was  in  point  of  fact  a 
Catholic,2  and  it  is  likely,  therefore,  that  his  retirement  on 
his  estate  at  Gracedieu  did  not  end  much  before  1618,  when 
the  whole  court  veered  toward  Catholicism  in  view  of  the 
approaching  Spanish  marriage.  In  February,  1617,  Buck- 
ingham's mother  changed  her  faith,  and  became,  according 
to  Wilson,  "the  cynosure  that  all  the  Papists  steered  by." 

Beaumont's  poems  in  these  years  were  all  of  the  courtly 
and  occasional  character  which  Waller  later  made  popular, 
on  such  themes  as  the  twentieth  anniversary  of  James's 
reign  (1623),  his  deliverance  from  a  dangerous  accident 
(January  8,  1622),  his  glorious  memory,  the  Prince's  jour- 
ney and  return,  his  marriage,  etc.  Bosworth  Field  is  of  the 
same  period,  since  a  dozen  or  more  lines  are  devoted  to 
praise  of  James  and  "hopefull  Charles,"  — 

"...  born  t'asswage 
The  winds  that  would  disturb  this  golden  age." 

Of  the  favorable  reception  of  these  poems  there  can  be 
little  question.  My  Lord  of  Buckingham's  Welcome  to  the 
King  at  Burley,  written  by  Beaumont,  was  answered  in 
verse  by  the  King  (App.  II,  VI,  VII),  and  these  in  turn 
called  forth  Beaumont's  sonnet  Of  his  Majestie's  Vow  for 
the  Felicity  of  My  Lord  Marquesse  of  Buckingham,  in  which, 

1  To  the  Duke  of  Buckingham  on  his  Return  from  Spain  (1622). 

1  Cf.  Col.  S.  P.  Dom.,  November  14,  1607  :  "Gift  ...  of  the  late  dis- 
solved monastery  of  Grace  Dieu,  and  other  lands  in  Leicester,  in  the  hands 
of  the  Crown  by  the  recusancy  of  John  Beaumont." 


Ixxxvi 

as  in  those  of  James,  there  are  only  five  rhymes.  The  dates 
of  his  poems  and  the  circumstances  in  which  they  were 
written  are  of  considerable  importance  in  connection  with 
his  claims  as  one  of  the  early  polishers  of  the  couplet. 

Whether  Waller  was  at  court  in  these  years  his  biog- 
raphers do  not  make  clear ;  but  it  is  thought  that  he  sat, 
as  a  youth  of  sixteen,  in  the  parliament  of  1621,  and  it 
was  at  the  close  of  either  this  parliament  or  that  of  1624 
that  he  went  "either  out  of  curiosity  or  respect,  to  see  the 
King  at  dinner,  with  whom  were  Dr.  Andrews,  Bishop  of 
Winchester,  and  Dr.  Neal,  Bishop  of  Durham,  standing 
behind  his  Majesty's  chair."  His  verses  Of  the  Danger  his 
Majesty  (being  Prince]  Escaped  in  the  Road  at  Saint  Andrews 
refer  to  an  event  which  occurred  in  1623,  but  allusions  to 
the  French  marriage  make  it  possible  that  the  poem  was  not 
written  before  1625.  It  was  at  least  not  later  than  this  year 
that  he  began  his  series  of  occasional  pieces,  addressed  to 
royalty,  on  themes  of  current  and  courtly  interest,  and  in 
a  style  which  in  the  next  generation  was  to  gain  general 
acceptance.  This  handsome,  pliant- tempered,  "  brisk 
young  spark"  of  twenty  was  scarcely  the  one  to  create  a 
new  fashion  in  poetry,  though  he  would  be  among  the  first 
to  adapt  his  muse  to  a  manner  which  had  received  the  proper 
sanction.  It  is  doubtful,  therefore,  if  one  need  seek  even 
so  far  as  the  stanzas  of  Fairfax's  Tasso  for  the  models  which 
guided  him  in  his  earliest  verse.1 

Aside  from  Jonson  and  Beaumont,  the  men  of  literary 
accomplishments  who  were  in  the  King's  immediate  circle 
were  for  the  most  part  Scotchmen,  long  in  the  service  of  the 
King,  and  with  tastes  and  training  similar  to  his  own.  To 
this  group  belong  several  members  of  the  Murray  family : 
Sir  David,  Prince  Henry's  master  of  the  robes ;  Sir  Thomas, 
tutor  and  secretary  to  Charles,  and  the  predecessor  of 
Wotton  as  Provost  of  Eton ;  John  Murray,  a  gentleman  of 

1  It  is  noteworthy  that  Fairfax  also  was  given  royal  approval.  James  is 
said  to  have  valued  his  Tasso  above  all  other  poetry  (Jonson,  Works,  ed. 
Cunningham,  Vol.  IX,  p.  366).  The  second  edition  of  Fairfax  (1624),  which 
probably  attracted  Waller's  attention,"was  printed  at  the  command  of  James, 
and  was  dedicated  to  Prince  Charles. 


Ixxxvii 

the  King's  privy  chamber ;  and  Sir  Patrick  Murray,  also  a 
member  of  the  royal  household.  Their  verse  which  has 
survived  is  of  little  interest,  chiefly  dedicatory  sonnets  and 
pieces  in  Latin,  but  Byron's  line,  — • 

"And  'tis  some  praise  in  peers  to  write  at  all," 

—  may  be  applied  to  courtiers  of  every  rank.  On  the  death 
of  John  Murray,  April  17,  1615,  Sir  William  Alexander  was 
stirred  to  sing  of  him  in  terms  of  high  praise  :  — 

"Mourn  Muses,  mourn,  your  greatest  Gallant  dies, 
Who  still  in  State  did  court  your  sacred  Train ; 
Your  Minion  Murray,  Albion's  sweetest  Swain." 

The  King  commended  these  lines,  but  thought  they  gave 
Murray  too  much  praise.1 

Sir  Robert  Ker,  remembered  chiefly  for  his  friendship  with 
Donne  and  Jonson,  was  another  of  the  King's  familiars. 
In  one  of  his  letters  to  Drummond  is  A  Sonnet  in  praise  of  a 
Solitary  Life,  written  from  "the  very  Bed-chamber,  where 
I  could  not  sleep"2  —  presumably  the  king's  chamber, 
since  he  was  at  this  time  one  of  his  regular  attendants. 
Another  letter,  April,  1624,  is  accompanied  by  ten  verse 
paraphrases  of  the  Psalms.3 

These  may  have  been  written  in  connection  with  the 
paraphrase  over  which  James  occupied  his  spare  moments 
before  and  after  his  coming  to  England.  His  chief  collab- 
orator, however,  was  Sir  William  Alexander  (1567  ?-i646), 
who  was  created  Earl  of  Stirling  in  1633.  Alexander  began 
his  career  at  Court  as  tutor  and  afterward  gentleman  of  the 
chamber  to  Prince  Henry.  In  1614  he  was  appointed  mas- 
ter of  requests,  and  rose  to  high  rank  and  responsibility  in 
the  courts  of  James  and  Charles.  The  correspondence 
which  he  kept  up  after  1614  with  the  poet  Drummond  in 
Scotland  contains  frequent  references  to  his  association 
with  James  in  literary  exercises.  "I  received  your  last 
Letter,"  he  writes,  April  18, 1620,  "with  the  Psalm  you  sent, 

1  Drummond's  Works,  ed.  1711,  p.  151. 

1  Ibid.,  p.  153.  \Arch.  Scot.,' Vol.  IV,  p.  93. 


Ixxxviii 

which  I  think  very  well  done ;  I  had  done  the  same,  long 
before  it  came,  but  he  [James]  prefers  his  own  to  all  else, 
tho'  perchance,  when  you  see  it,  you  will  think  it  the  worst 
of  the  Three.  No  man  must  meddle  with  that  Subject, 
and  therefore  I  advise  you  to  take  no  more  Pains  therein."  1 
Opinions  so  frank  as  this  Alexander  probably  did  not  ex- 
press in  the  presence  of  majesty. 

The  paraphrase  on  which  they  were  engaged  seems  to 
have  been  intended  by  James  as  a  supplement  to  the  King 
James  version  of  the  Bible  —  an  undertaking  which  (it  may 
be  noted)  he  had  broached  before  the  General  Assembly  at 
Burntisland  as  early  as  1601.  On  coming  to  England, 
according  to  Spottiswoode,  he  "set  the  most  learned  divines 
of  that  church  a-work  for  the  translation  of  the  Bible  .  .  . 
but  the  revising  of  the  Psalms  he  made  his  own  labour, 
and  .  .  .  went  through  a  number  of  them,  commending 
the  rest  to  a  faithful  and  learned  servant,  who  hath  therein 
answered  his  M.  expectation."  2 

Having  obtained  a  privilege  from  Charles  in  1627,  Alex- 
ander published  in  that  year  and  reissued  in  1631  what 
purported  to  be  King  James's  paraphrase,  and  another 
entirely  different  version  in  i636.3  Neither  of  these  is 
at  all  like  the  MS.  paraphrase  in  the  British  Museum, 
which  contains  rough  drafts  in  the  King's  hand  (with  fair 
copies  in  some  cases)  of  Psalms  1-7,  9-21,  29,  47,  100,  125, 
128,  133,  148,  150,  Eccles.  xii,  the  Lord's  Prayer  (cf.  App. 
II,  IX)  and  Deut.  xxxii.  The  initials  J.  D.  R.  S.  (Jacobus 
Dominus  Rex  Scotia?),  frequently  signed  to  the  rough 
drafts,  indicate  that  they  were  made  before  the  King  left 
Scotland.  It  is  not  impossible,  therefore,  that.  Alexander's 
first  edition  was  based  on  a  later  paraphrase  in  which  he 
and  James  collaborated ;  the  royal  recommendation  opposite 
the  title-page  of  the  1631  edition  testifies  explicitly  to 
James's  authorship. 

1  Drummond's  Works,  p.  151. 

1  History  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  ed.  1847,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  99. 

*  Bound  up  in  1637  with  The  Book  of  Common  Prayer  .  .  .  for  the  Use  of 
the  Church  of  Scotland.  The  attempt  to  enforce  the  use  of  this  service  caused 
the  Edinburgh  Presbyterian  Riot  of  July  23,  1637. 


Ixxxix 

Another  of  Alexander's  letters,  dated  February  4,  1616, 
contains  the  King's  sonnet  Against  the  Could  that  was  in 
January  1616,  and  his  own  verses  suggested  by  it.  The 
letter  deals  also  with  a  literary  discussion  in  which  they  had 
engaged:  "The  last  Day  being  private  with  his  Majesty, 
after  other  Things,  we  fortuned  to  discourse  of  English 
Poesy,  and  I  told  one  Rule  that  he  did  like  of  exceedingly, 
which  was  this ;  That,  to  make  a  good  Sound  there  must  still 
be  first  a  short  Syllable,  and  then  a  long,  which  is  not  posi- 
tively long  of  itself,  but  comparatively,  when  it  followeth  a 
shorter;  so  that  one  Syllable  may  be  long  in  one  Place  and 
short  in  another,  according  as  it  is  matched;  for  a  Syllable 
seems  short  when  it  is  as  it  were  born  down  with  a  longer."  1 

With  this  comment  on  a  point  of  prosody  may  be  joined 
James's  sonnet  (XL VI)  on  Sir  William  Alexander's 
Harshe  Verses  after  the  Ingliche  Fasone,  the  clearest  ex- 
pression of  his  distaste  for  the  rough  obscurity  of  the  meta- 
physical poets :  — 

"...  Although  your  neighbours  have  conspir'd  to  spill 
That  art  which  did  the  Laurel  crowne  obtaine 
And  borrowing  from  the  raven  there  ragged  quill 
Bewray  there  harsh,  hard  trotting  tumbling  wayne 
Such  hamringe  hard  the  metalls  hard  require 
Our  songs  are  fil'd  with  smoothly  flowing  fire." 

This  may  have  no  definite  reference,  but  it  is  in  keeping 
with  James's  views  elsewhere  disclosed,  and  would  be  an 
appropriate  condemnation  of  the  unconventionally  af- 
fected by  Donne  and  his  followers.  In  a  letter  to  Arthur 
Johnston,  one  of  the  royal  physicians,  Drummond  voices 
still  more  explicitly  the  views  of  the  older  school.  The 
letter  is  undated,  but  Johnston  was  physician  to  James  for 
some  time  before  the  latter's  death.  The  writer  speaks 
first  of  the  eminence  and  permanence  of  poetry.  "In  vain," 
he  continues,  "have  some  Men  of  late,  (Transformers  of 

1  Drummond's  Works,  p.  149.  For  the  first  part  of  the  letter,  cf .  XL VII, 
note. 


xc 

every  Thing)  consulted  upon  her  reformation,  and  en- 
deavoured to  abstract  her  to  Metaphysical  Idea's,  and 
Scholastical  Quiddities,  denuding  her  of  her  own  Habits, 
and  those  Ornaments  with  which  she  hath  amused  the 
World  some  Thousand  Years.  Poesy  is  not  a  Thing  that 
is  yet  in  the  finding  and  search,  or  which  may  be  otherwise 
found  out,  being  already  condescended  upon  by  all  Nations, 
and  as  it  were  established  jure  Gentium,  amongst  Greeks, 
Romans,  Italians,  French,  Spaniards.  Neither  do  I  think 
that  a  good  Piece  of  Poesy,  which  Homer,  Virgil,  Ovid, 
Petrarch,  Bartas,  Ronsard,  Boscan,  Garcilasso,  (if  they  were 
alive,  and  had  that  Language)  could  not  understand,  and 
reach  the  Sense  of  the  Writer.  .  .  .  What  is  not  like  the 
Ancients  and  conform  to  those  Rules  which  hath  been 
agreed  unto  by  all  Times,  may  (indeed)  be  something  like 
unto  Poesy,  but  it  is  no  more  Poesy  than  a  Monster  is  a 
Man."  l  This  is  probably  the  first  use  of  the  term  meta- 
physical in  connection  with  the  group  of  poets  to  which  it 
was  afterward  applied  by  Dryden,  Pope,  and  Dr.  Johnson. 
While  the  passage  consists  of  traditional  classical  formulae, 
these  for  the  writer  were  by  no  means  dead  or  empty ;  and 
they  express  the  attitude  of  himself  and  his  friends  as  clearly 
as  they  anticipate  the  view  of  poetry  which  was  to  prevail 
during  the  next  hundred  and  fifty  years. 

Though  not  in  the  court,  Drummond  was  in  close  touch 
with  it,  and  would  voice  its  tastes  so  far  as  these  were  de- 
termined by  the  King  and  his  household  intimates.  The 
verse  of  these  writers,  it  is  true,  was  in  many  ways  different 
from  that  of  Waller  and  the  later  school,  especially  in  the 
absence  of  stereotyped  epithet,  smart  antithesis,  and  a 
general  air  of  urbanity.  But  conservatism  is  not  innova- 
tion, and  so  far  as  the  correctness  of  the  later  poets  was  a 
return  to  accepted  tradition,  it  found  sanction  in  the  theory 
and  practice  of  the  court  poets  of  the  reign  of  James. 
Drummond,  Jonson,  and  George  Sandys  have  usually  been 
considered  as  the  immediate  precursors  of  Waller,  especially 
in  the  use  of  the  confined  or  classical  heroic  couplet. 

1  Ibid.,  p.  143. 


XC1 

Sandys,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  a  gentleman  of  the 
chamber  to  Charles,  and  wrote  a  part  of  his  translation  of 
Ovid's  Metamorphoses  in  the  early  twenties  of  the  century. 
Waller  also  was  about  the  court  when  the  opposition  to 
the  school  of  conceits  was  gathering  head. 

All  of  this  evidence  is  intended  chiefly  to  support  two 
conclusions :  (i)  that  during  James's  reign  there  was  a 
well-defined  sentiment  at  court  in  favor  of  a  smooth,  clear 
style  in  poetry  (and  also  in  prose) ;  (2)  that  the  writers  who 
anticipated  the  manner  and  matter  of  later  classicism  came 
directly  under  this  influence.  It  need  not  be  assumed  that 
James  himself  was  in  any  large  way  responsible  for  these 
changes,  save  as  an  instrument  or  as  one  who  adopted  and 
spread  abroad  the  theories  he  had  been  trained  to  accept. 
But  his  place  made  his  views  very  influential,  while  his 
natural  gifts  were  not  contemptible;  and  there  is  little  in 
the  so-called  innovations  of  Waller  which  could  not  have 
been  derived  from  the  formal  views  of  poetry  held  by  the 
King,  and  put  in  practice,  partly  on  this  account,  but 
chiefly  through  personal  preference,  by  the  poets  with  whom 
he  was  associated. 


AMATORIA 

[i] 

A  COMPLAINT  AGAINST  THE  CONTRARY  WYNDES  THAT  HINDERED 
THE  QUEENE  TO  COM  TO  SCOTLAND  FROM  DENMARKE  l 

From  sacred  throne  in  heaven  Empyrick  hie 
A  breathe  divine  in  Poets  brests  does  blowe 
Wherethrough  all  things  inferiour  in  degrie 
As  vassalls  unto  them  doe  hommage  showe 
There  songs  enchants  Apollos  selfe  ye  knowe  s 

And  chaste  Dianas  coache  can  haste  or  staye 
Can  change  the  course  of  Planets  high  or  lowe 
And  make  the  earthe  obeye  them  everie  waye 
Make  rockes  to  danse,  huge  hills  to  skippe  and  playe 
Beasts,  foules,  and  fishe  to  followe  them  allwhere  10 

Though  thus  the  heaven,  the  sea,  and  earthe  obeye, 
Yett  mutins  the  midde  region  of  the  aire, 
What  hatefull  Juno,  y£olus  entiseth 
Wherby  contrarious  Zephyre  thus  ariseth. 

[II] 

O  cruell  Cupide  what  a  rutheles  rage 
What  hatefull  wrathe  thou  utterest  upon  me 
No  medicine  my  sicknesse  may  asswage 
Nor  cataplasme  cure  my  wounde  I  see 
Through  deadlie  shott  alive  I  daylie  dye  s 

I  frie  in  flammes  of  that  envenomed  darte 
Which  shotte  me  sicker  in  at 2  ather  eye 
Then  fastned  fast  into  my  hoalit 3  harte 
The  fever  hath  infected  everie  parte 
My  bones  are  dried  there  marrowe  melts  awaye  10 

1  Title  in  the  hand  of  Charles.  2  Orig.  into. 

3  Orig.,  tormented;  crossed  through  and  hoalit  written  above.     Cor- 
rections in  the  MS.  are  usually  made  in  this  way. 
i  1 


My  sinnowes  feebles  through  my  smoaking  smarte 
And  all  my  bloode  as  in  a  pann  doth  playe 
I  onlie  wishe  for  ease  of  all  my  paine 
That  she  might  witt  what  sorrowe  I  sustaine. 

[Ill] 

TO    THE    QUEENE  * 

As  on  the  wings  of  your  enchanting  fame 
I  was  transported  ou'r  the  stormie  seas 
Who  coulde  not  quenche  that  restles  burning  flame 
Which  onlie  ye  by  sympathie  did  mease 
So  can  I  troubled  be  with  no  disease 
Bot  ye  my  onlie  Medicinar  remaines 
And  easilie  when  ever  that  ye  please 
May  salve  my  sores  and  mitigatt  my  paines 
Your  smiling  is  an  antidote  againes 
The  Melancholic  that  oppresseth  me 
And  when  a  raging  wrathe  into  me  raignes 
Your  loving  lookes  may  make  me  calme  to  be 
How  oft  you  see  me  have  an  heavie  hart 
Remember  then  sweete  Doctour  on  your  art. 

[IV] 

TO    THE    QUEENE,    ANONIMOS  1 

That  blessed  houre  when  first  was  brought  to  light 
Our  earthlie  Juno,  and  our  gratious  Queene 
Three  Goddesses  how  soone  they  hade  her  scene 
Contended  who  protect  her  shoulde  by  right 
Bot  being  as  Goddesses  of  equall  might 
And  as  of  female  sexe  like  stiffe  in  will 
It  was  agreed  by  sacred  Phoebus  skill 
To  joyne  there  powers  to  blesse  that  blessed  wight. 

1  Titles  in  the  hand  of  Carey. 


Then  happie  Monarch  sprung  of  Ferguse  race 
That  talkes  with  wise  Minerve  when  pleaseth  the 
And  when  thou  list  sume  Princelie  sporte  to  see 
Thy  chaste  Diana  rides  with  the  in  chase 
Then  when  to  bed  thou  gladlie  *  does  repaire 
Clasps  in  thine  armes  thy  Cytherea  faire. 

[V] 

TWO    SONNETS    TO   HER   M™    TO    SHOW    THE    DUTERENC] 
OF    STILES  2 

Althogh 3  Madame  I  ought  not  to  refuse 
What  yee  request,  or  please  4  to  desire 
Yet  may  I  justly  make  my  own  excuse 
In  that  which  last  it  pleas'd  you  to  require 
Long  since  forsooth  my  Muse  beganne  to  tire 
Through  daylie  fascherie  of  my  own  affaires 
Which  quench'd  in  me  that  heavenly  furious  fire 
In  place  whereof  came  sad  &  thorny  cares 
Which  restlesly  no  time  nor  season  spares 
To  spoile  me  of  my  former  pleasurs  quite 
Who  wont  before  to  use  farre  other  wares 
As  exercis'd  some  worthy  work  to  write 
How  ar  Castalias  floods  dried  up  in  me 
Like  suddain  shoures  this  time  of  yeere  ye  see 

[VI] 

But  what  Madame  &  shall  I  then  denie 
Your  juste  demaunde  and  disobey  the  same  ? 
No  yee  even  yee  shall  carrie  to  the  skie 
My  barren  verse  and  shall  my  Muse  inflame 
Was  it  not  only  your  inchaunting  fame 
Who  on  her  wings  alofte  did  carrie  mee 
Frome  native  soil  to  follow  on  your  name 

1  Orig.,  tvearie. 

2  This  sonnet  and  the  one  following  are  in  the  handwriting  of  Charles. 

3  Orig.,  suppose.  4  Orig.,  pleaseth. 


And  Eagle  like  on  Theatis  back  to  flee 
£"  Wher  she  commaunded  Neptune  for  to  be 
10  My  Princely  guard  and  Triton  to  attend 
On  artificial  flying  ooars  of  tree 
Wherin  I  resting  ranne  to  journeys  end 
Then  since  your  fame  hath  made  me  flie  before 
Well  may  your  name  my  verses  nou  decore 

[VII] 

The  Cheviott  hills  doe  with  my  state  agree 
In  everie  point  excepting  onelie  one 
For  as  there  toppes  in  cloudes  are  mounted  hie 
So  all  my  thoughts  in  skies  be  higher  gone 
5  There  foote  is  fast,  my  faithe  a  stedfast  stone 
From  them  discends  the  christall  fontains  cleare 
And  from  mine  eyes  butt  fained  l  force  and  mone 
Hoppes  trickling  teares  with  sadd  and  murnefull  cheare 
From  them  great  windes  doe  hurle  with  hiddeous  beir 
10  From  me  deepe  sighs,  greate  flocks  of  sheepe  they  feede 
I  flockes  of  love,  no  fruicts  on  them  appeare 
My  houpe  to  me  no  grace  can  bring  or  breede 

In  these  alike,  in  this  we  disagree 

That  snowe  on  them,  and  flames  remaines  in  me. 

[VIII] 

As  man,  a  man  am  I  composed  all    • 
Of  brethren  foure  which  did  this  worlde  compone 
Yett  unto  me  doth  suche  a  chance  befall 
As  I  of  mankind  all  am  he  alone 
5  Who  of  the  foure  possesseth  onlie  one 
My  flames  of  love  to  firie  heaven  be  past 
My  aire  in  sighs  evanish'd  is  and  gone 
My  moysture  into  teares  distilling  fast 
Now  onelie  earthe  remaines  with  me  at  last 
10  That  am  denuded  of  the  other  three 

1  Orig.,  with  fainted.     Altered  by  Carey. 


5 

Then  crewell  Dame  since  unto  1  suche  a  cast 
Your  onelie  beautie  thus  compelleth  me 

Send  als  2  my  earth,  with  earth  for  to  remaine 

Or  els  restore  me  to  my  selfe  againe. 

[IX]        . 

If  he  that  lackes  the  light  may  justlie  mone 
And  eke  lament  his  miserable  cace 
As  he  to  whome  all  worldlie  joye  is  gone 
When  drearie  darknes  cumes  in  Phoebus  place 
How  muche  the  more  may  I  lament  allace  « 

The  absence  of  my  onelie  lampe  of  light 
Since  Lezardlike  I  feede  upon  her  face 
And  suckes  my  satisfaction  from  her  sight 
No  more  may  I,  then  marigolde  by  night 
Beare  blossomes  when  no  sighte 3  of  sunne  I  have  ] 

For  you  Madame  have  by  your  beauties  might 
Bereft,  and  brookes  my  hart  your  humble  slave 
i  How  may  a  man,  a  floure,  a  corps  in  smart 

See,  blossom,  breathe ;  but  eyes,  but  sunne,  but  hart. 

[X] 

Come  4  f ruictfull  thoughts  that  f ertill  ever  flowes 
And  showes  what  sicknes  smites  my  heavie  hart 
The  more  I  muse  my  greefe  the  greater  growes 
And  painefull  pangues  of  passions  playe  there  parte 
My  evill  it  is  incurable  by  art  < 

And  keepis  a  contrare  course  to  nature  cleene 
My  minde  delights  to  panse  5  upon  his  smart 
And  feede  on  flames  though  secrete  and  unseene 
Bot  as  my  brest  a  butt  full  long  hath  bene 
To  6  sightles  shotts,  so  on  the  other  side 
O  ye  my  harts  allurer  by  my  eyen 
Respect  with  ruthe  the  bale  I  daylie  bide 

1  Orig.,  into.  3  Orig.,  light. 

2  Orig.,  this.  4  Orig.,  Quer. 

8  M use  is  written  above  in  the  hand  of  Charles,  but  crossed  through  and 
replaced  by  panse  in  the  hand  probably  of  James.  8  Orig.,  Of. 


6 


Then  since  we  bothe  like  sorrowe  doe  sustaine 
Bothe  preasse  to  turne  in  pleasure  all  our  paine. 


Although  that  crooked  crawling  Vulcan  lie 
An-under  ashes  colde  as  oft  we  see 
As  senseless  deade  whill  by  his  heate  he  drie 
The  greene  and  sizzing  l  faggots  made  of  tree 
5  Then  will  that  little  sponke  and  flaming  eye 
Bleaze  bravelie  forth  and  sparkling  all  abreed 
With  wandling  up  a  wondrous  sight  to  see 
Kithe  clearlie  then  and  on  the  faggots  feede 
So  am  I  forced  for  to  confesse  indeede 
10  My  sponke  of  love  smor'd  under  coales  of  shame 
By  beauties  force  the  fosterer  of  that  seede 
Now  budds  and  bursts  in  an  appearing  flame 
Bot  since  your  beautie  hath  this  wonder  wroght 
I  houpe  Madame  it  shall  not  be  for  noght. 

[XII] 

0  womans  witt  that  wavers  with  the  winde 
When  none  so  well  may  warie  now  as  I 
As  weathercocke  thy  stablenes  I  finde 
And  as  the  sea  that  still  can  never  lie 
S  Bot  since  that  tyme  the  trueth  hath  made  me  trie 
That  in  inconstance  thou  art  constant  still 
My  courage  sayes  on  Cupide  ceasse  to  crie 
That  are  rewarded  thus  for  thy  goodwill 
For  thogh  Madame  1  failde  not  to  fullfill 
rio  All  sort  of  service  to  a  Mistres  dewe 

Yett  absence  thogh  bot  for  a  space  did  spill 
The  thankes  deserved  of  all  my  service  trewe 
What  shall  2  1  saye,  I  never  thought  to  see 
That  out  of  sight,  shoulde  out  of  langour  be. 

1  Orig.,  sissing.  *  Orig.,  shoulde. 


[XIII] 

CONSTANT  LOVE  IN  ALL  CONDITIONS 

Now  doeth  disdainfull  Saturne  sadd  and  olde 
With  ycie  bearde  enjoye  his  frosen  raigne 
His  hoarie  haires  and  snowie  mantle  colde 
Ou'rcovers  hills  and  everie  pleasant  plaine 
Whiles  deaz'd  with  frost,  whiles  droun'd  with  rapping  raine  s 
Doe  beasts  and  birds  bewaile  there  carefull  cace, 
With  longsume  lookes  in  houpe  to  see  againe 
Sweete  favoured  Flora  showe  her  aimeled  face. 

And  looke  how  long  they  are  in  this  estate,  ' 
This  dolent  season  so  there  courage  dants  I0 

That  now  no  Cupide  with  his  golden  bate 
Darr  make  there  harts  his  harbour  where  he  hants 
Bot  rather  deade  as  are  the  trees  and  plants, 
There  spirits  of  life  must  hide  them  at  the  hart 
Wherethrough  there  kindlie  courage  daylie  scants  IS 

Whill  mounting  Phoebus  makes  them  to  revert. 

"  And  shall  I  then  like  birde  or  beast  forgett 
For  anie  stormes  that  threatning  heaven  can  send 
That  object  sweete,  wheron  my  hart  is  sett 
Whome  for  to  serve  my  senses  all  I  bend  20 

My  inward  flame  with  colde  it  dothe  contend 
The  more  it  burnes,  the  more  restrain'd  it  be 
No  winters  frost,  nor  sommers  heate  can  end 
Or  staye  the  course  of  constant  love  in  me. 

[XIV] 

A  DIER  AT  HER  M  I*1**  DESYER  : l  — 

If  mourning  might  amend  my  harde  unhappie  cace 
Or  if  complaining  coulde  appease  Dame  Fortunes  frowning 
face 

1  Orig.,  A  Dier  on  her  Mattf.    The  change  in  the  title  is  made  by  Carey. 
Printed  in  Rait,  with  the  supplied  title,  //  Mourning  micht  Amende. 


8 

Then  shoulde  I  never  cease  by  songs  and  sonnets  still 
With  my  to  just  conceaved  regraits  the  earthe  and  aire  to 

fill 
5  My  cairfull  cries  and  grones  shoulde  make  the  rockes  re- 

bounde 
The  mountains  rive  and  all  the  earth  with  Echoes  to  re- 

sounde 

Not  Orpheus  l  charming  notes  for  his  departed  wife 
Nor  raging  Roland  for  his  love  that  ledd  so  madd  a  life 
No  not  the  world  in  one  compared  should  never  be 
10  Unto  the  mone  that  I  shoulde  make,  suche  passions  mar- 
tyrs me 

But  what  may 2  that  availe  except  for  to  renewe 
My  olde  and  deeplie  rooted  griefs  that  els  to  gladly  grewe 
To  rankle  up  the  sore  that  lurkes  into  my  hart 
And  as  a  cancer  make  it  spreade  abroade  in  everie  part. 
15  What  wrathe  have  all  the  Gods  conceaved  at  me  allace 
That  makes  me  love  where  hatred  dwells,  and  pittie  hath 

no  place 

0  if  she  were  bot  faire,  or  if  she  were  bot  false 
Bot  faire  and  false  torments  me  thus  and  holdes  me  by  the 

halse 

If  beautie  as  it  ought  with  bountie  coupled  ware 
20  Then  suirlie  she  wolde  pittie  take  on  my  consuming  caire 
Or  if  she  wear  but  3  false  and  lacking  Venus  grace 
Then  woulde  I  not  have  been  abused  by  her  enchanting  face 
Thus  am  I  tortured  still,  I  mourne  without  remeade 
My  languour  lackes  one  4  graine  of  houpe  to  mixe  with  daylie 

dreade 

[25  My  teares  getts  no  regarde,  my  sighs  can  have  no  eare 
And  in  one  houre  is  quite  forgott  my  service  manie  a  yeare 
What  houpe  can  rest  behinde,  what  may  I  looke  for  then 
Bot  be  a  butt  to  heavenlie  plagues,  a  monstre  amongs  men 
My  state  can  never  change  my  griefs  are  bot  begunne 
30  Thus  casten  is  my  luckles  lott  that  woefull  weirds  have 

spunne 

1  Orig.,  with  deleted  after  Orpheus.  *  Rait,  had  bene. 

1  Orig.,  Rait,  can.  *  Orig.,  Rait,  a. 


9 

Awaye  with  comfort  then  and  wellcome  colde  dispaire 
And  since  I  can  have  no  delight,  lett  me  delight  in  caire 
My  mirth  in  murning  be,  my  joye  in  dolours  deepe 
I  will  with  sadd  and  sorie  sighs  my  selfe  from  languour  keepe 
And  for  my  cheefest  sports  to  mind  then  will  I  bring  3S 

As  in  a  roll  my  whole  mishaps,  syne  1  like  a  swanne  them 

sing 

My  houpe  is  whole  transformed  in  blacke  and  colde  dis- 
paire 

Except  I  onlie  houpe  for  deathe  to  end  continuall  caire : 
No,  death  he   must   not   haste,  my  mischiefs  woulde  he 

mend 

It  best  becumes  my  miserie  to  dwine  before  1 2  end  40 

Yett  if  the  endles  smart  and  sorrowe  I  sustaine 
Were  suffered  for  sume  worthie  wight,  I  happie  wolde  re- 

maine 

I  wolde  me  happie  thinke  if  thus  I  martyred  ware 
For  sume  sweete  Sainct  in  sacrifice  that  both  were  good  and 

faire 

Bot  O  allace  my  paine  and  restless  griefe  it  growes  45 

For  her  who  never  once  on  me  a  loving  thought  bestowes 
Yett  lett  not  this  dishart  no  happie  man  in  love 
Who  finds  a  maike  that  will  not  change,  nor  for  no  chance 

remove. 

All  wemen  are  in  overs,3  in  vertue  sume  excell 
And  sume  in  vices  may  ou'rmatche  the  greatest  Divell  in  5° 

hell 

The  blessedest  creatures  made  by  God  the  Angells  ware 
The  cursedest  creatures  in  the  worlde  the  fallen  Angells  are 
For  me  I  onlie  crave  a  spectacle  to  be 
Wherin  as  in  a  masse  confused  all  miseries  men  may  see 
And  when  my  happ  shall  be  to  goe  to  wished  grave  55 

Which  is  the  onlie  happie  chance  I  ever  wishe  to  have 
That  then  the  passenger  may  reade  in  going  by 
For  true  and  honest  constant  love,  this  patient  here  does 

lye. 

1  Orig.,  then.    Correction  possibly  by  James.  2  Rait,  it. 

3  Rait,  a  curs,  an  emendation  of  MS.  ocurs. 


10 

[XV]1 

My  muse  hath  made  a  willfull  lye  I  grante, 

I  sung  of  sorrows  never  felt  by  me ; 

I  have  as  great  occasion  for  to  vante, 

My  love  begunne  my  blessing  for  to  be. 
5  How  can  I  then  excuse  so  lowd  a  lye  ? 

O  yes,  I  did  it  even  at  her  desire, 

Who  made  me  such  successe  in  love  to  see, 

How  soone  her  flames  hade  sett  my  hart  on  fire. 

Since  for  her  sake  I  presse  for  to  aspire 
10  To  preache  of  passions  which  I  never  prov'd ; 

What  should  yee  doe  who  have  for  haplesse  hire 

The  lucklesse  lott,  to  love  and  not  be  lov'd. 
Your  plaints  I  thinke  should  pierce  the  starrie  skies 
And  deave  the  Gods  with  shrill  and  cairfull  cries. 

[XVI] 

A  COMPLAINT  OF  HIS  MISTRESSIS2  ABSENCE  FROM  COURT  : — 

Whill  as  a  statelie  fleeting  castle  faire 
On  smoothe  and  glassie  salt  does  softlie  slide 
With  snowie  sheets  all  flaffing  here  and  thaire 
So  deck'd  and  trim'd  as  she  were  Neptunes  bride 
s  And  no  ways  troubled  with  contrarious  tide 
And  shining  Titan  from  his  firie  cart 
Smiles  seing  nature  triumph'd  of  by  art. 

And  whill  the  foolish  pilgrims  of  the  seas 
Inflam'd  with  following  fortunes  fickle  baite 
loEsteemes  them  selfs  to  be  at  such  an  ease 
As  who  bot  they  into  there  owen  concaite 
And  everie  man  sturs  up  his  fellowe  maite 
As  citiezens  of  Thetis  sliprie  grounde 
And  sonnes  to  Phcebus  lightner  of  this  rounde. 

1  The  sonnet  is  on  an  inserted  leaf  in  the  MS.,  and  does  not  appear  in 
Rait.     Its  original  omission  is  referred  to  in  the  following  note  written 
by  James  at  the  end  of  the  preceding  poem :   "  the  sonnet  lackis  heere 
quhiche  interprettis  all  the  matter."  . 

2  Orig.,  Mistris.     Correction  in  the  hand  of  James. 


11 

Thus  whill  they  thinke  there  fortune  frames  at  will  15 

The  Sunne  his  beames  aboundantlie  bestowes 
Upon  the  aire  to  make  it  cleare  and  still 
The  sea  so  calme  as  scarcelie  ebbs  or  flowes 
No  messager  of  prison'd  JEole  blowes 

Except  a  gaile  with  breathing  to  and  fra  20 

To  stoppe  the  saile  from  rashing  on  the  ray. 

Then  if  a  cloude  the  sonne  of  vapours  grosse 
Eclipse  the  Sunne  from  there  astonish'd  sight 
There  cause  of  joye  becumes  there  cause  of  losse. 
For  looke  how  soone  they  lacke  there  former  light  25 

In  place  of  Phcebus  cumes  a  darckned  night 
And  drumlie  cloudes  with  rumbling  thunders  rearde 
Doe  threaten  mixing  heavens  with  sea  and  earde. 

O  miserable  wretches  woulde  they  crie 

Who  setled  trust  on  so  unsetled  grounde  3° 

Who  woulde  all  other  elements  dene 
For  that  which  onelie  is  unconstant  founde 
Now  were  we  happie,  now  into  a  stounde 
Are  we  ou'rladen  with  a  hell  of  frayes 
Bot  warre  the  rockes,  soone  cast  her  in  the  stayes.  35 

0  heavenlie  lampe  Apollo  bright  and  cleare 
What  crime  hath  so  incenst  thy  heavenlie  ire 
For  as  thy  presence  made  us  heavenlie  here 
Our  light,  our  joye,  our  comfortable  fire 

Now  loathe  we  that  which  most  we  did  desire  4° 

Since  by  thy  absence  heaven  in  hell  is 'changed 
And  we  as  Divells  in  Plutoes  court  are  ranged. 

The  like,  6  not  the  like  bot  like  and  more 
Doe  we  not  one  bot  all  in  Court  sustaine 
Since  l  she  who  did  our  Princelie  Court  decore  45 

Is  2  absent,  absent  doth  allace  remaine 
Whose  comelie  beautie  graced 3  our  Princelie  traine 

1  Orig.,  When.  *  Orig.,  does.  »  Orig.,  stain'd. 


12 

Whose  modest  mirth  express'd  alluring  grace 
Whose  absence  makes  us  lacke  our  light  allace. 

50     The  Court  as  garland  lackes  the  cheefest  floure 
The  Court  a  chatton  toome  that  lackes  her  stone 
The  Court  is  like  a  volier  at  this  houre 
Wherout  of  is  her  sweetest  Sirene  gone. 
Then  shall  we  lacke  our  cheefest  onlie  one  ? 

55  No,  pull  not  from  us  cruell  cloude  I  praye 
Our  light,  our  rose,  our  gemme,  our  bird  awaye. 

Bot  houpe  beginnes  to  hoise  me  on  her  wings 
Even  houpe  that  presence  absence  shall  amend. 
Bot  what  my  Muse,  how  pertlie  thus  thou  sings 
60  Who  rather  ought  Solsequium  like  attend 
With  luckried  leaves  till  wearie  night  take  end. 
Haste  golden  Titan  thy  so  long'd  returne 
To  cleare  the  skies  where  now  we  darckned  murne. 


[XVII] 

^A   DKEAME    ON   HIS    MISTRIS    MY    LADIE    GLAMMES 

Whill  as  the  silent  shaddie  night 

Did  with  her  courtens  blacke 
Ou'rcover  Rheas  fruictfull  face 

And  being  colde  and  wacke 
S         By  sympathie  with  mortall  braines 

Our  members  make  of  leade 
And  stealing  all  bur  senses  make 

Us  lye  awhile  as  deade. 
Then  whill  I  was  in  this  estate 
10  The  God  with  golden  wings, 

Who  entring  at  the  ports  of  home 

So  manie  monstres  brings, 
And  changing  into  sundrie  shapes 

By  strange  and  subtle  slight, 
15         Does  make  us  heare  without  our  eares 


13 

And  see  but  eyes  of  light. 
This  strange  and  subtle  God,  I  saye 

Of  late  appear'd  to  me, 
And  by  the  hand  my  Mistres  ledd, 

Loe  here  she  is  quoth  he,  20 

Whose  presence  breeds  as  manie  joyes 

As  absence  breeds  thee  woes  : 
Loe  here  the  harbour  of  thy  hart 

Loe  here  thy  onlie  chose2 
Loe  here  she  is  who  makes  thee  trade 3  25 

The  statelie  forcked  hill, 
Whose  pleasant  grasse  beginnes  to  fade  4 

So  trampled  by  thee  still, 
Loe  here  she  is  who  makes  thee  drinke 

The  christall  silver  spring  30 

Of  flying  horse  and  riding  foule 

As  ancient  Poets  sing, 
Loe  here  the  subject  and  the  wings 

Of  thy  high  flying  verse 
That  mountes  above  the  flammie  vaults  35 

And  to  the  heaven  does  pearse. 
With  this  me  thought  she  bowed  her  doune 

And  joyned  the  rubies  sine, 
(That  hides  her  ivorie  rankes  and  smells 

Of  Nectar)  unto  mine,  40 

Sine  with  her  soft  and  silken  hands 

About  my  necke  she  layes 
A  tablet  and b  an  Amethyst 

And  silent  slipps  her  wayes. 
But  loe  my  minde  so  passion'd  was  45 

My  hart  so  sturr'd  withall 
With  joye  extreame,  as  made  them  soone 

My  senses  to  recall. 
And  looke  how  soone  from  slugglish  sleepe 

I  perfectlie  awooke,  5° 

Even  at  the  first  (6  miracle) 

1  Orig.,  noyeis.  2  Orig.,  chaise.  8  Orig.,  tredd. 

4  Orig.,  feade.  50rig.,  good. 


14 

Into  my  hand  I  tooke 
These  tokens  hunge  about  my  necke 

(As  I  had  dream'd  before) 
ss  What  Deitie  (quoth  I  amaz'd) 

For  this  shall  I  adore : 
Sume  God  or  Angell  suirlie  hath 

This  present  to  me  brought, 
For  if  on  anie  naturall  dreames 
60  Hade  ravished  bene  my  thought, 

Then  ather  of  the  humours  foure 

The  cheefe  that  did  abounde, 
By  sympathie  with  brethren  foure 

Wherof  was  form'd  this  rounde, 
65  And  with  the  seasons  of  the  yeare 

Wolde  vexed  have  my  braine. 
If  bloode  domin'd  with  bloodie  jarres 

In  spring  time,  and  againe, 
If  cholere  raign'd  with  ravening  fires 
70  In  sommers  pearching  heate, 

If  phlegme  did  with  drowning  floods 

When  Hyades  holds  there  seate, 
If  melancholie  earth  and  night 

With  heavie  things  and  blacke, 
75  When  frozen  Saturne  rules  with  snowe 

The  place  wolde  suirlie  take : 
Or  els  the  things  I  last  hade  thought 

Hade  done  or  wish'd  to  be 
They  hade  although  imperfectlie 
80  In  dreame  appear'd  to  me. 

And  so  by  nature  hade  I  dream'd 

The  thing  I  dream'd  indeede, 
For  I  confesse  that  Idee  oft 

My  ravish'd  minde  dois  feede, 
85  Bot  then  how  soone  I  hade  awack'd 

And  Morpheus  flowen  awaye, 
No  token  hade  he  left  behinde 

As  now  this  wedd  it  laye : 
Then  counting  it  sume  heavenlie  gift 


15 

And  sent  me  from  above,  90 

I  cust  me  narrowlie  to  guesse 

What  coulde  the  meaning  prove, 
And  so  beganne  both  up  and  doune 

To  tosse,  to  viewe,  to  spie  — 
This  tablet  and  the  Amethyst  95 

There  secrets  for  to  trie. 
Thou  Lycian  Lord  that  Deitie 

Whome  Delphos  did  adore, 
Whose  shining  coache  doe  saphirs  blewe 

And  rubies  red  decore,  100 

The  sacred  Sisters  Monarch  greate, 

The  spirit  that  did  inspire 
With  oracles  the  Sybills  sage 

Inflam'd  with  heavenlie  fire, 
0  thou  that  mysteries  can  reveale  105 

And  future  things  foreseis 
Assist  my  seeking  out  of  this 

And  open  cleare  mine  eyes. 
The  Amethyst  in  forme  of  hart 

Doeth  sign'fie  the  hart  no 

And  constant  love  unchangeable 

That  is  upon  my  part, 
And  as  the  colours  of  this  stone 

Are  purple  mix'd  with  graye, 
So  flames  of  love  my  earthlie  parts  "5 

Consumes  me  day  by  daye. 
The  secret  vertues  that  are  hidd 

Into  this  pretious  stone 
Indues  me  with  meete  qualities 

For  serving  such  a  one,  120 

For  as  this  stone  by  secret  force 

Can  soveraignlie  remeade 
These  daizeled  braines  whome  Bacchus  strength 

Ou'rcomes  as  they  were  deade, 
And  can  preserve  us  from  the  harme  125 

Of  the  envenomed  sting 
Of  poysoned  cuppes,  that  to  our  tombe 


16 

Untymelie  does  us  bring, 
So  shall  my  hart  be  still  preserved 
13°  By  vertue  from  above, 

From  staggering  like  a  drunken  man 

Or  wavering  into  love : 
Bot  by  this  soveraigne  antidote 

Of  her  whom  still  I  serve 
135  In  spite  of  all  the  poysoned  lookes 

Of  Dames  I  shall  not  swerve. 
And  speciallie  with  courage  bolde 

This  stone  can  furnish  me 
That  with  my  conquering  hand  I  may 
14°  Enforce  my  foes  to  flic, 

For  suire  he  can  not  worthie  be 

To  be  accompted  deare 
By  anie  Dame  that  in  his  brest 

A  womans  hart  dois  beare. 
*45  And  therfor  for  my  part  I  vowe 

If  as  the  rumours  be 
Of  jarrs  and  broyles,  I  happen  in 

Effect  the  same  to  see, 
I  shall  not  from  the  enemies  sight 
150  To  anie  part  remove, 

Unkithing  once  in  honour  of 
My  Mistres  and  my  love  : 
Bot  onlie  mot  I  conquered  be 

And  onelie  will  I  yeelde 
155  To  Cupids  shott,  whose  firie  darts 

Resist  coulde  never  sheelde. 
And  lastlie  as  this  stone  hath  force 

A  hunter  for  to  aide, 
In  end  to  catche  his  pray,  the  fruict 
160  Of  all  his  travell  made, 

So  as  I  am  an  prentise  past 
Into  that  Princelie  game, 
Whose  hounds  and  horns  through  rockes  and  woodes 

Makes  Echo  answer  them, 
165  I  trust  by  vertue  of  this  stone 


17 

To  winne  and  holde  the  pray 
That  prayes  on  me,  and  is  of  all 

My  passion'd  thoughts  the  stay. 
Bot  loe  I  long  to  turne  me  to 

The  tablet  made  of  golde,  170 

And  all  without  and  in  the  same 

At  length  for  to  beholde. 
Of  purest  golde  the  tablet  made 

Which  by  the  fire  is  fin'd, 
Her  chastnes  pure  does  represent  175 

In  bodie  both  and  mind, 
The  crawling  scores  of  ameling  blacke 

That  on  the  golde  are  wrought, 
The  divers  passions  represents 

That  waiters  in  her  thought.  180 

One  of  the  leaves  on  utter  side 

A  nacked  man  does  beare, 
Whome  Phoebus  rosts  with  hote  reflexe 

And  stinging  flees  doe  teare. 
Yett  sitting  in  the  forrest  greene,  185 

As  senceles  of  his  harme, 
By  harmonic  of  violl  sweete 

He  never  irkes  to  charme 
The  ravish'd  foules  and  beasts  about, 

Esteeming  so  there  joye,  190 

As  makes  him  quite  for  to  forgett 

His  grievous  sore  anoye. 
This  man  not  onelie  represents 

Her  Siren  voyce  divine, 
Wherewith  she  makes  the  dullest  eares  195 

And  hardest  harts  encline, 
Bot  as  his  dittie  sayes,  To  please 

The  rest  he  suffers  paine, 
So  she  her  Princesse  serves  of  love 

Without  respect  of  gaine.  200 

The  other  on  the  utter  side 

The  Sunne  hath  shining  bright 
Into  the  midst,  with  stars  about 


18 

Bot  darckned  by  his  light 
205  And  as  that  dittie  sayes,  As  Sunne 

Amongst  the  stars  does  shine, 
So  she  her  sexe  surpasseth  far 

In  vertues  most  divine : 
That  Sunne  of  whome  I  sung  before 
210  Whose  absence  made  me  flie 

Above  the  skies,  6  Sunne  to  seeke 

Her  shaddowe  into  the. 
Bot  if  into  these  former  verse 

I  soar'd  with  Eagle  wings, 
215  Then  Mistres  thanke  your  selfe  for  them 

That  by  your  vertue  sings. 
Bot  greatest  comfort  is  to  me 

To  spie  the  inward  part, 
Wheras  ane  hand  does  holde  me  thinke 
220  My  onelie  Mistres  hart, 

Whill  Cupide  with  his  bended  bowe 

And  golden  arrowe  aime, 
To.  shoote  his  subtle  firie  shaft 

For  pearcing  of  the  same : 
225  Bot  that  her  hand  does  holde  her  hart 

I  take  it  for  to  be, 
That  willinglie  she  letts  her  hart 

Be  shotte  into  for  me. 
The  inward  of  the  other  leafe 
230  It  emptie  does  remaine, 

Which  if  my  guesse  deceave  me  not, 

Is  ordain 'd  to  containe, 
The  art  of  sume  Apelles  fine, 

The  portraict  of  her  face, 
235  To  give  unto  the  workemanship 

Of  all  the  rest  a  grace : 
For  as  the  rest  does  represent 

Her  qualities  most  rare, 
So  shoulde  her  selfe,  though  vivelie,  no, 
240  Yett  best  it  can  be  there. 

And  suire  the  Gods  above  they  have 


19 

Decreed  as  seemes  to  me, 
That  as  the  tablet  and  the  stone, 

Both  knitt  together  be 
Even  by  a  string,  the  tablet  like  245 

To  her,  to  me  the  stone, 
So  shall  our  love  whill  Atrope  cutt 

The  threed,  be  knitt  in  one. 
Thus  have  I  redd  my  dreme  ye  see 

With  wise  Apollos  aide,  250 

And  if  this  be  the  verrie  trueth 

That  I  herin  have  saide, 
Then  am  I  gladd  of  such  a  guesse, 

Bot  if  I  be  deceav'd, 
And  in  the  opening  of  a  dreame  255 

Have  ather  dream'd  or  reav'd 
Yett  wellcume  be  a  gladd  deceate, 

For  as  into  my  sleepe, 
My  dreame  deceaved  x  me,  so  my  guesse, 

In  gladnes  doth  me  keepe.  260 

Now  may  ye  see  o  Titan  mine, 

No  distance  far  of  place, 
Nor  other  thoughts  can  out  of  me 

The  thought  of  you  deface, 
In  absence  are  ye  present  still  265 

And  ever  so  in  sight, 
No  wonder  is,  what  Monarch  may 

Resist  a  womans  might. 


[XVIII] 

A   SATIRE  AGAINST  WOEMEN  2 

As  falcons  are  by  nature  faire  of  flight 
Of  kinde  as  sparhalks  far  excells  in  speede 
As  marlions  3  have  in  springing  greatest  might 

1  Orig.,  ravish'd.     Altered  by  James. 

2  Printed  in  Rait,  with  the  supplied  title,  On  Women. 
8  Rait,  martrones;  glossed,  martens. 


20 

As  gosehalks  are  of  nature  given  to  greede 
5  As  mavises  of  kinde  are  given  to  sing 
And  lavrocks  after  candlemasse  to  spring. 

As  piots  steales  what  ever  they  can  beare 
Of  kinde  as  corbies  followes  carions  vilde 
As  jeas  will  conterfitt  what  sounde  they  heare 
10  As  gledds  of  nature  kills  not  oft  the  wylde 
As  crowes  and  kaes  will  clatter  when  they  playe 
As  hens  of  nature  keckells  when  they  laye. 

As  kinde  makes  hounds  to  followe  hairs  by  sent 
As  cursours  nickers  riding  in  the  night 
15  As  lions  for  to  seeke  there  praye  are  bent 
As  beares  by  kinde,  of  leggs  are  wonderous  wight 
As  tigres  flies  the  waters  and  the  wites 
As  nature  gives  the  Ounces  cruell  sprites. 

As  goates  delights  to  climbe  through  craige  and  cleughe 
20  As  deere  of  nature  hants  the  forrest  faire 
As  conns  by  kinde  will  skippe  from  branche  to  beughe 
As  foxes  can  by  craft  escaipe  the  snaire 
As  brockes  in  winter  likes  to  sleepe  and  rest 
As  swine  by  nature  loves  the  midding  best. 

25     As  schooles  of  herring  flees  the  whaill  for  feare 
As  greate  olde  pyckes  will  eate  the  young  and  small 
As  remora  will  stoppe  a  shippe  to  steare 
As  kinde  makes  sea  horse  to  be  cruell  all 
As  kinde  makes  crevises  to  swimme  abacke 

30  As  troutes  of  nature  fishers  baits  will  take. 

As  marmaides  hates  all  men  by  natures  will 
As  delphins  loves  all  bairns  in  wonderous  sorte 
As  by  the  contrare  crocodills  them  kill 
As  mareswines  loves  of  nature  for  to  sporte 


21 

Of  kinde  as  salmon  in  freshe  water  l  spawnes  35 

As  selchs  have  milke  and  young  ons  lacking  rawnes.2 

In  short  as  foules  by  kinde  in  aire  doe  flee 
And  as  the  beasts  by  nature  goes  3  on  grounde 
And  as  the  fishes  swimmes  in  frothie  see 
And  as  all  Living  things  are  ever  bounde  40 

To  followe  nature  ruling  them  allwaye 
Whose  will  obeye  thay  must  butt  lett  or  staye. 

Even  so  all  wemen  are  of  nature  vaine 
And  can  not  keepe  no  secrett  unrevealed " 
And  where  as  once  they  doe  concaive  disdaine  45 

They  are  unable  to  be  reconcealed 
Fullfild  with  talke  and  clatters  but  respect 
And  often  tymes  of  small  or  none  eff ect. 

Ambitious  all  without  regarde  or  shame 
Butt  anie  measure  given  to  greede  of  geare  50 

Desyring  ever  for  to  winne  a  name 
With  flattering  all  that  will  them  not  forbeare 
Sume  craft  they  have,  yett  foolish  are  indeede 
With  lying  whiles  esteeming  best  to  speede. 


Exposition  4 

Expone  me  right  ye  Dames  of  worthie  fame  55 

Since  for  your  honours  I  employed  my  caire 
For  wemen  bad  hereby  are  lesse  to  blame 
For  that  they  followe  nature  everie  whaire 
And  ye  most  worthie  prayse,  whose  reason  dants 
That  nature,  which  into  your  sexe,  so  hants.  60 

1  Rait,  riueris. 

2  Rait,  6*  young  onis  laik  in  graunis;  glossed,  "as  young  seals  play  in 
branches  of  rivers." 

3  Rait,  go. 

*  Rait,  Excuise. 


22 

[XIX] 

SONG   I * 

What  mortall  man  may  live  but  hart 
As  I  doe  now  suche  is  my  cace 
For  now  the  whole  is  from  the  part 
Devided  cache  in  divers  place 
s  The  seas  are  now  the  barr 

Which  makes  us  distant  farr 
That  we  may  soone  winne  narr 
God  graunte  us  grace. 

Full  manie  causes  suire  I  have 
I0  Which  does  augment  my  woe  and  caire 

Bot  one  more  speciall  nor  the  leave 
When  I  doe  thinke  what  joye  was  thaire 
What  gladnes  and  what  greeting 
At  our  long  wished  meeting 
15  I  can  not  well  unwiting  2 

My  cheekis  declare. 

And  sine  how  we  so  soone  were  shedd 
And  loste  our  long  desired  joye 
0  what  mischance,  I  never  redd 
20  That  lovers  hade  suche  cause  of  noye 

For  other  lovers  uses 
The  one  to  make  excuses 
Of  absence,  thus  abuses 
Them  Venus  boye. 

25  Bot  we  endure  far  greater  skaith 

For  onelie  one  of  them  hath  paine 
Bot  we  alike  are  wounded  baith 
And  cairfull  till  we  meete  againe 

1  Title  in  the  handwriting  of  Charles.     Printed  in  Rait,  with  the  last 
two  stanzas  first,  and  the  supplied  title,  Bot  be  the  Contraire  I  Reiose. 

2  Rait,  I  can  not  ueill  on  ueitting;  glossed,  "without  wetting." 


23 

O  absence  cruell  foe 

Why  workes  thou  us  such  woe  30 

And  gars  true  lovers  so 
Far  shedd  remaine. 


Thou  absence  gives  me  cause  to  feare 
Lest  she  be  harm'd  by  sume  mischance 

makes  long 

Thou  absence  gars  me  greine  l  to  heare  35 

Some  worde  from  her,  thou  gars  me  panse 

What  waye  for  to  eschewe 

These  sorrowes  which  renewe 

And  whiles  I  change  my  hewe 
Whiles  falls  in  transe.  40 


Bot  by  the  contrare  I  rejoyes 
When  I  persave  we  marrowes  be 
In  trouble,  sorrowe  and  in  noyes 
That  is  a  thing  which  comforts  me 

The  proverbe  makes  relation  45 

That  likes  in  tribulation 
Is  wretches  consolation 
So  now  are  we. 


Rejoyce  therfor  my  halfe  in  all 2 
Since  honest  causes  be  the  staye,  50 

Of  presence,  houpe  that  meete  we  shall 
With  greater  gladnes  on  a  daye. 
I  praye  the  Lord  abone 
To  send  it  till  us  soone 

Farewell  till  that  be  done  55 

And  after  aye. 

1  Eligat  lector  is  written  in  the  margin  in  the  hand  of  James.    Rait,  garris 
me  greine. 

2  Rait  has  lenuoy  above  this  stanza. 


24 

[XX] 

SONG   2  1 

When  as  the  skillfull  archer  false 
Inflam'd  and  pearc'd  by  craftie  arte 
Leanders  hart  and  Heros  als 
By  his  so  firie  golden  darte 
5  Fra  Cupide  blinde  assailde 

With  bowe  and  shaft 
His  will  they  never  failde 
Such  was  his  craft. 

And  ever  from  that  tyme  agoe 
10  There  love  to  others  never  past 

Whill  fortune  was  there  mortall  foe 
And  made  them  perishe  both  at  last 
The  raging  seas  they  war 

Twixt  them  a  barr 

15  There  cheefest  toyle  and  caire 

To  swimme  so  farr. 

Bot  liker  is  my  fortune  raire 
Since  seas  divydes  us  not  at  all 
To  Piramus  and  Thisbe  faire 
20  Devyded  onlie  by  a  wall 

Which  in  it  hade  a  bore 

Wherethrough  they  spake 
Which  of  a  chance  before 
Dame  fortuity  brake. 

/ 
25  The  verrie  like  did  us  befall 

As  them  of  whome  I  shewe  before 
We  distant  are  by  such  a  wall 
And  often  spacke  by  such  a  bore 

Whill  envie  called  a  naile 
30  There  through  so  strate 

As  made  our  moyen  faile 
To  speake  of  late. 

1  Title  in  the  handwriting  of  Charles. 


25 

MISCELLANEA 

[XXI]1 

Arl   hoc  creaturae  destinatae  sunt,  ut   in   eis   glorificetur 
Creator. 

The  azured  vault,  the  cristall  circles  bright 2 
The  gleaming  firie  torches  poudered  thair 
The  changing  rounde,  the  shining  beamie  light 
The  sadd  and  bearded  fires,  the  monsters  faire 
The  prodiges  appearing  in  the  aire 
The  rearding  thunders  and  the  blustering  windes 
The  foules  in  hewe,  in  shape  and  nature  rare 
The  prettie  notts  that  wing'd  musiciens  findes 
In  earthe  the  savourie  flowres,  the  metall'd  mindes 
The  wholesome  herbes,  the  hautie  pleasant  trees 
The  silver  streames,  the  beasts  of  sundrie  kindes 
The  bounded  roares,  and  fishes  of  the  seas 
All  these  for  teaching  man  the  Lord  did  frame 
To  honoure  him 3  whose  glorie  shines  in  them. 

[XXII] 

A  SONNET  ON  MR  PA.  ADAMSONS  PARAPHRASE  OF  JOB  :  4  — 

In  wandring  wealth  through  burbling  6  brookes  and  bewes 
Of  tripping  troupes  and  flocks  on  fertill  grounde 
In  cattell  great  of  sundrie  shapes  and  hewes 
With  howes  6  all  whole,  or  in  a  parted  rounde 

1  Crossed  out  in  the  MS.,  with  the  note :  "This  sonnet  is  printed  at  the 
end  of  Lepanto."     [Exercises  at  vacant  houres.] 

2  Orig.,  christal  skies  and  bright. 

8  Exercises,  To  do  his  unit.    The  change  is  made  by  James. 

4  Crossed  out  at  this  point  in  the  MS.,  but  inserted  on  fol.  45  b.    It 
was  published  in  Adamsoni  Poemata  Sacra,  London,  1619,  and  is  printed  in 
Irving's  Lives  of  the  Scotish  Poets,  Vol.  II,  p.  222,  with  the  fifth  line  omitted. 

5  Fol.  45  b,  bubbling. 
8  Fol.  45  b,  hoo/es. 


26 

In  fields  fullfild l  with  comes  by  sheavers  bounde 
In  heapes  of  golde,  and  ritches  in  all  wayes 
As  Job  excelled  all  others  might  be  founde 
Of  Monarchs  greate  or  Princes  in  his  dayes 
So  this  translatour  merites  no  less  praise 
For  gifts  of  sprite,  then  he  for  gifts  of  geare 
And  God  in  grace  hath  given  such  counterpaise 
As  his  translation  to  the  worke  is  peere 

God  did  his  gifts  in  him  2  so  wiselie  mell 

Whose  heavenlie  wealth  Jobs  earthlie  wealth  doth  tell. 

[XXIII] 

A   SONNET  ON  TICHO  BRAKE  :  — 

That  onlie  essence  who  made  all  of  noght 
Our  great  and  mightie  Lord  the  life  of  all 
When  he  in  ordour  everie  thing  hade  broght 
At  the  creating  of  this  earthlie  ball 
Then  made  he  man  at  last.     Thy  raigne  it  shall 
Extend  (quod  Jehova)  in  everie  cace 
Over  all  these  breathing  beasts  that  flatlie  fall 
For  humble  hommage  here  before  thy  face 
He  also  pitch 'd  cache  Planet  in  his  place 
And  made  them  rulers  of  the  ruling  Lord 
As  heavenlie  impes  to  govern  e  bodies  basse 
Be  subtle  and  celestiall  sweete  accord 
Then  greate  is  Ticho  who  by  this  his  booke 
Commandement  doth  ouer  these  commanders  brooke. 

•ftX*-'  < 

[XXIV] 

ANOTHER   ON  THE   SAME  !  — 

The  glorious  globe  of  heavenlie  matter  made 
Containing  ten  celestiall  circles  faire 
Where  shining  starres  in  glistring  graithe  arraide 
Most  pleasantlie  are  poudered  here  and  thair 

1  Fol.  45  b,  fulle  filld. 

2  Fol.  45  b,  Irving,  God  did  in  him  his  gifts. 


27 

Where  everie  planet  hath  his  owen  repaire  5 

And  christall  house,  a  whirling  wheill  in  rounde 
Whose  calme  aspects  or  froward  does  declaire 
Gods  minde  to  blisse  great  kingdomes  or  confounde 
Then  if  you  list  to  see  on  earthlie  grounde 
There  ordour,  course,  and  influence  appeare  10 

Looke  Tichoes  tooles,  there  finelie  shall  be  founde 
Eache  planet  dansing  in  his  propre  spheare 
There  fires  divine  into  his  house  remaine 
Whome  sommerlie  his  booke  doth  here  containe. 

[XXV] 

ANOTHER  ON  THE   SAME:  — 

What  foolish  Phaeton  did  presume  in  pride 
Yea  more  what  great  Apollo  takes  in  hand 
Who  does  the  course  of  glistring  Phoebus  guide 
Thou  does  performe  that  rules  cache  firie  brand 

Then  greater  art  thou  then  Apollo  cleare  5 

As  thy  Uranias  eldest  fostre  deare. 

[XXVI] 

A  SONNET  ON  DU  BARTAS  l 

Since  ye 2  immortall  sisters  nine  have 3  left 
All  other  countries  lying  far  or  neere 
To  follow  him  who  from  you  all  them  reft 4 
And  now  hath  caused  your  residence  be  here 
Who  thogh  a  stranger,  yett  he  lov'd  so  deere  5 

This  realme  and  me,  so  as  he  spoil'd  his  awin 
(And  all  the  brookes,  the  bankes  and  fontains  cleere 
That  be  in  it)  of  you,  as  he  hath  shawin 

1  Printed  in  The  Historic  of  Judith  in  forme  of  a  Poeme:  penned  in  French 
by  the  noble  poet  G.  Sallust,  Lord  ofBartas:  Englished  by  Tho.  Hudson,  Edin., 
1584.  Printed  in  the  1608  and  later  editions  of  Sylvester. 

1  Orig.,  the. 

1  Orig.,  hath. 

4  Orig.,  Hudson,  from  them  all  you  reft 


28 

In  this  youre  l  worke,  then  let  your  breaths  be  blawin 
In  recompense  of  this  his  willing  minde 
On  me,  that  then  may  with  my  penn  be  drawin 
His  praise :  who  2  thogh  him  selfe  be  not  inclin'd 
Nor  preasseth  but  to  touche  the  laurell  tree 
Yett  well  he  merites  crown'd  therwith  to  be. 


[XXVII] 

What  heaven  doth  furnish  thee  such  learned  skill 
What  heavenly  fire  inspires  thy  furious  sprite 
What  foule  bereaves  thou  for  to  painte  at  will 
Thy  travells  greate,  what  booke  gives  floures  most  sweete 
5     Deck'd,  holie,  cleane,  alone  but  matches  meete 
Wise,  loftie,  learned,  with  good  will  florish'd  faire 
Of  penn,  of  brightnes,  smell  and  skill  compleete 
They  wonder  at  thee  in  heaven,  fire,  earthe,  and  aire 
Great  God  who  heares  from  heaven  his  cantiques  raire 
10     And  knowes  thy  harper,  furie,  pen,  and  floure 
Preserve  him  in  his  midrinke  with  thy  caire 
But  doubt  his  skill  will  change  in  heaven  sume  houre 
His  soule  in  starre,  his  furie  in  fires  most  strange 
His  pen  in  Phcenix,  corps  in  floure  shall  change. 


[XXVIII] 3 

0  divin  du  Bartas,  disciple  d'Uranie 
L'Honneur  de  nostre  temps,  poe'te  du  grand  Dieu 
Tes  saincts  vers  doux-coulants  pleins  de  douce  manie 
Distilles  des  hauts  cieux  volent  de  lieu  en  lieu 
Comme  esclairs  foudroyants  du  grand  esprit  tonnant 
Postillonent  tonnants  du  levant  au  ponant. 

1  Orig.,  Hudson,  his. 

J  Hudson,  for. 

8  Crossed  out  in  the  MS. 


29 

[xxrx] 

A  SONNET  ON  MR  W.  FULLERS  TRANSLATION  OF  PETRARCHS 
TRIUMPHE  OF  LOVE  :  1  — 

We  find  by  proofe  that  into  everie  age 

In  Phoebus  art  sume  glistring  starre 2  did  shine 

Who  worthie  schollers  to  the  Muses  sage 

Fulfil'd  there  countries  with  there  workes  divine 

So  Homere  was  a  sounding  trumpett  fine 

Amongst  the  Greeks  into  his  learned  dayes 

So  Virgill  was  amongst  the  Romanes  sine 

A  spirit  sublimed,  a  piller  of  there  praise 

So  loftie  Petrarch  his  renoume  did  blaze 

In  toungue  Italique  in  a  sugred  stile 

And  to  the  circled  skies  his  name  did  raise 

For  he  by  poems  that  he  did  compile 
In  triumphe  ledde 3  love,  chastness,  deathe,  and  fame 
Bot  thou  triumphes  ouer  Petrarchs  propre  name. 

[XXX] 

AN  EPITAPHE   ON  SR  PHILIP   SIDNEY  :  4  — 

Thou  mightie  Mars  the  God  5  of  souldiours  brave 
And  thou  Minerve  that  does  in  witt  excell 
And  thou  Apollo  that  does  knowledge  have 
Of  everie  art  that  from  Parnassus  fell 
With  all  the  6  Sisters  that  theron  doe  dwell  j 

Lament  for  him  who  dewlie  serv'd  you  all 
Whome  in,  you  wiselie  all  your  arts  did  mell 
Bewaile  I  say  his  unexpected  fall 

1  Printed  in  Leyden's  Scotish  Descriptive  Poems.    Printed  from  Leyden 
in  Gillies'  reprint  of  The  Essayes  of  a  Prentise,  Preface,  p.  vii. 

2  Leyden,  stars. 

*  Orig.,  Leyden,  Ledde  in  triumphe.     Correction  by  Carey. 
4  Printed  in  Academics  Cantdbrigensis  Lachrymce   Tumulo  .  .  .  Sidneii. 
.  .  .  London,  1587. 
8  Acad.,  Lord. 
6  Acad.,  your. 


30 

I  neede  not  in  remembrance  for  to  call 
His  youth,  his  race,1  the  houpe  hade  of  him  aye 
Since  that  in  him  doeth  cruell  deathe  appall 
Both  manhoode,  witt,  and  learning  everie  waye 
Now  in  the  bed  of  honour  doeth  he  rest 2 
And  evermore  of  him  shall  live  the  best. 

[XXXI] 

AN  EPITAPHE  ON  JOHN   SHAW  :  — 

A  vertuous  life  procures  a  happie  deathe 
And  raires  to  loftie  skies  there  noble  name 
Then  blest  is  he  who  looseth  thus  his  breathe 
Though  to  his  friends  it  be  a  griefe  the  same. 
This  may  be  saide  of  thy  immortal  fame 
Who  here  reposes  closed  in  honours  laire 
For  as, of  trewe  and  noble  race  thou  came 
So  honestie  and  trueth  was  all  thy  caire 
Thy  kinn  was  honoured  by  thy  vertues  raire 
Thy  place  of  creditt  did  thy  friends  defend. 
Then  noble  mindes  aspire  and  doe  not  spaire 
With  such  a  life  to  conquise  such  an  end 

Bot  here  my  inward  greefe  does  make  me  staye 
I  minde  with  deeds,  and  not  with  wordes  to  paye. 

[XXXII] 

VOTUM 

Thy  kindenes  kithed  in  loosing  life  for  me 
My  kindnesse  on  thy  friends  I  utter  shall 
My  perrill  kindled  courage  into  the 
Mine  shall  revenge  thy  saikles  famous  fall 
Thy  constant  service  ever  shall  remaine 
As  freshe  with  me  as  if  thou  lived  againe. 

1  Acad.,  His  race,  his  youth. 

*  Acad.,  But  yet  he  doth  in  bed  of  honor  rest. 


31 
[XXXIII] 

A  SONNET  TO   CHANCELLER  MAITLANE  :  — 

Vigiliae  nostrae. 

If  he  who  valliant  even  within  the  space 
That  Titan  six  times  twise  his  course  does  end 
Did  conquise  olde  Dame  Rheas  fruictfull  face 
And  did  his  raigne  from  pole  to  pole  extend 
Hade  thought  him  happier  if  that  greeke  hade  penn'd 
His  worthie  praise  who  traced  the  Trojane  sacke 
Then  all  his  actes  that  forth  his  fame  did  send 
Or  his  triumphant  trophees  might  him  make. 
Then  what  am  I  that  on  Pegasian  backe 
Does  flee  amongs  the  Nymphes  immortall  faire 
For  thou  6  Maitland  does  occasion  take 
Even  by  my  verse  to  spreade  my  name  allwhere 
For  what  in  barbarous  leide  I  blocke  and  frames 
Thou  learnedlie  in  Minerv's  tongue  proclames. 

Olet  lucernam  certe,  nam  cum  lucerna  excogitatum  fuit. 

[XXXIV] 

AN  EPITAPHE   ON  MONTGOMRIE  : 

What  drousie  sleepe  doth  syle  l  your  eyes  allace 
Ye  sacred  brethren  of  Castalian  band 
And  shall  the  prince  of  Poets  in  our  land 
Goe  thus  to  grave  unmurned  in  anie  cace 
No ;  whett  your  pens  ye  imps  of  heavenlie  grace 
And  toone  me  up  your  sweete  resounding  strings 
And  mounte  him  so  on  your  immortall  wings 
That  ever  he  may  live  in  everie  place 
Remember  on  Montgomries  flowand  grace 
His  suggred  stile  his  weightie  words  divine 


32 

And  how  he  made  the  sacred  Sisters  nine 
There  montaine  quitte  to  followe  on  his  trace 
Though  to  his  buriall  was  refused  the  bell 
The  bell  of  fame,  shall  aye  his  praises  knell. 

[XXXV] 

A  SONNET  ON  THE  MONETH  OF  MAY  :  — 

Haill  mirthfull  May  the  moneth  full  of  joye 
Haill  mother  milde  of  hartsume  herbes  and  floures 
Haill  fostrer  faire  of  everie  sporte  and  toye 
And  of  Auroras  dewis  and  summer  shoures 
5     Haill  friend  to  Phoebus  and  his  glancing  houres 
Haill  sister  scheine  to  Nature  breeding  all 
Who  by  the  raine  that  cloudie  skies  out  pouris 
And  Titans  heate,  reformes  the  faided  fall 
In  woefull  winter  by  the  frostie  gall 
10     Of  sadd  Saturnus  tirrar  of  the  trees 

And  now  by  Natures  might  and  thine  they  shall 
Be  florish'd  faire  with  colours  that  agrees 
Then  lett  us  all  be  gladd  to  honour  the 
As  in  olde  tymes  was  ever  wonte  to  be. 

[XXXVI]1 

AN  ^NIGME   OF   SLEEPE  :  — 

Life  is  my  selfe,  I  keepe  the  life  of  all 
Without  my  helpe  all  living  things  they  die 
Small,  greate,  poore,  ritche,  obeye  unto  my  call 
Feirce  lions,  foules,  and  whaills  into  the  sie 

5     With  meete  and  drinke  the  hungrie  I  supplie 
Deade  drunken  als  I  quicken  newe  againe 
Dearer  to  Kings,  nor  crownes  and  sceptours  hie 
Unto  the  riche,  nor  all  there  wealth  and  gaine 
I  am  not  nyse,  the  poore  I'le  not  disdaine 

10     Poore  wretches  more  then  Kings  may  me  command 

1  Crossed  out  in  the  MS. 


33 

Where  I  cumme  in  all  senses  man  refraine 

Softer  nor  silke,  and  sadder  nor  the  sand 
I  hurt,  I  helpe,  I  slaye,  and  cuire  the  same 
SLEEPE,  and  advise,  and  panse  well  what  I  am. 

[XXXVII] 

A  SONNET  WHEN  THE  KING  WAS  SURPRISED  BY  THE  EARLE 
BOTHWELL1 

A  faschious  fight  does  force  my  freest  minde 

Betwixt  two  valliant  champions  I  persave 

The  one  trewe  courage  rightlie  is  defin'd 

The  other  wisedome  temperat  and  grave 

Thy  selfe  undanted  showe  quoth  courage  brave  5 

Bot  wisedome  wishes  for  a  while  to  staye 

Quoth  courage  rather  die  then  live  a  slave 

Quoth  wisedome  true,  if  so  should  be  for  aye 

Bot  wracke  the  not  upon  thy  selfe  I  praye 

Since  keeping  up  thy  selfe  bot  for  a  space  10 

On  others  sine  thy  courage  kithe  thou  may 

Quoth  courage,  lingring  is  a  great  disgrace 
Of  all  these  straits  the  best  is  out  of  doubte 
That  courage  wise,  and  wisedome  shoulde  2  be  stoute. 

[XXXVIII] 

ANOTHER  ON  THE   SAME  :  — 

Shall  treason  then  of  trueth  have  the  rewarde 
And  shall  rebellion  thus  exalted  be 
Shall  cloked  vice  with  falsehoods  fained  farde 
In  creditt  creepe  and  glister  in  our  eye 
Shall  coloured  knaves  so  malapertlie  lie  s 

And  shamelesse  sowe  there  poysoned  smitting  seede 
And  shall  perjured  infamous  foxes  slie 
With  there  triumphes  make  honest  harts  to  bleede 

1  The  title  is  an  alteration  in  the  hand  of  Carey.     The  original  is 
too  obliterated  to  read. 
*  Orig.,  shall. 

3 


34 

How  long  shall  Furies  on  our  fortunes  feede 

>  How  long  shall  vice  her  raigne  possesse  in  rest 
How  long  shall  Harpies  our  displeasure  breede 
And  monstrous  foules  sitt  sicker  in  our  nest 

In  tyme  appointed  God  will  suirlie  have 
Eache  one  his  due  rewarde  for  to  resave. 

[XXXIX]1 

All  kinde  of  wronge  allace  it  now  aboundes 
And  honestie  is  fleemed  out  of  this  land 
Now  trumprie  over  trueth  his  triumphe  soundes 
Who  now  can  knowe  the  hart  by  tongue  or  hand 
j  Cummes  ever  justice  at  the  barre  to  stande 

Where  can  she  be  in  these  our  later  dayes 
Alike  in  water  for  to  wagg  a  wande 
As  speare  for  her  if  truelie  sundrie  sayes 
For  manie  now  abroade  doe  daylie  blaize 

>  That  justice  hath  her  hart  infected  sore 
How  can  she  then  be  cleane  in  anie  wayes 
Bot  must  become  corrupted  more  and  more 

Sume  lockman  now  hath  locked  up  apart 
Poore  justice  martyr'd  with  a  meschant  hart. 

[XL] 

A  SONNET  PAINTING  OUT  THE  PERFECT  POET  2 

A  ripe  ingine,  a  quicke  and  walkened  witt 
With  summaire  raisons  suddainlie  applied 
For  everie  purpose  using  raisons  fitt 
With  skillfulnes  where  learning  may  be  spied 
!  With  pitthie  wordes  for  to  expresse  you  by  it 

His  full  intention  in  his  propre  leide 
The  propertie  wherof  well  hes  he  tryit 
With  memorie  to  keepe  what  he  doth  reide 

1  Crossed  out  in  the  MS. 

2  Crossed  out  in  the  MS.,  with  the  note :  "This  sonnet  is  alreadie  printed 
and  prefixed  to  the  treatise  of  Scottish  poesie."     [Essayes  of  a  Prentise.] 


35 

With  skillfulnes  and  figures  which  proceede 

From  rhetorick,  with  everlasting  fame 

With  others  wondering  preassing  with  all  speede 

For  to  attaine  to  merite  such  a  name 
All  these  into  the  perfect  Poete  be 
Gods  grante  I  may  attaine  the  laurell  tree. 

[XLI]1 

A  SONNET  TO  THE  READER  PREFIXED  TO  THE  TREATISE  OF 
THE  ART  OF  POESIE  2 

Since  for  your  sake  I  wrytte  upon  your  art 

Apollo,  Pan,  and  ye  o  Muses  nine 

And  thou  o  Mercure  for  to  helpe  thy  part 

I  the  3  emplore  since  thou  by  thy  ingine 

Nixt  after  Pan  hade  founde  the  whissell,  sine 

Thou  did  perfect  that,  which  he  bot  espied 

And  after  that  made  Argos  for  to  tine 

Who  keeped  lo,  all  his  windowes  by  it 

Concurre  ye  Gods  1 4  can  not  be  denied 

Since  of  your  art  of  poesie  I  writte 

That  birds  will  learne  5  by  teaching  it  is  tried 

Sic  docens  discam,  if  ye  helpe  to  dicte 
Then  reader  see  of  nature  thou  have  part 
Sine  lackes  thou  noght,  bot  here  to  reade  the  art. 

[XLII]6 

0  mightie  7  Gods  since  I  with  pen  and  poets  art 
So  willinglie  hath  serv'd  you  thogh  my  skill  be  small 
I  praye  you  8  everie  one  of  you  to  helpe  his  part 

In  granting  this  my  suite  which  after  followe  shall. 

1  Crossed  out  in  MS.,  with  the  note, "  This  sonnet  is  prefixed  to  the  treatise 
of  Scottish  poesie  and  is  alreadie  printed." 

2  Orig.,  treatise  of  Scottish  poesie.     Correction  by  James. 

1  Essayes,  do.  *  Essayes,  it. 

6  Orig.,  Olde  birdes  do  learne.     Correction  by  James. 
6  MS.  note :  "These  two  following  sonnetts  with  the  preface,  are  printed." 
All  three  are  crossed  out.  7  Essayes,  Immorlall.  8  Essayes,  then. 


[XLIII] 

First  Jove  as  greatest  God  above  the  rest 
Grante  thou  to  me  a  part  of  my  desire 
That  when  of  the  in  verse  *  I  writte  my  best 
This  onlie  thing  of  the  I  doe  require  2 
That  thou  my  vaine  poetick  so  enspire 
As  they  may  surelie  thinke  all  that  it  reede 
When  I  describe  thy  might  and  thundring  fire 
That  they  doe  see  thy  selfe  in  verrie  deede 
From  heavens  thy  greatest  thunders  for  to  leade 
And  sine  upon  the  Giants  heads  to  fall 
Or  cumming  to  thy  Semele  with  speede 
In  thunders  least  at  her  request  and  call 

Or  throwing  Phaeton  doune  from  heaven  to  earde 
With  threatning  thunders  make  a  monstrous  rearde. 

[XLIV] 

Apollo  nixt  assist  me  to  3  a  part 
Since  thou  are  second  unto  Jove  4  in  might 
That  when  I  like  describe  thy  heavenlie  cart 5 
The  readers  may  esteeme  it  in  there  sight 
And  grante  me  als  the  worlds  6  onlie  light 
Whome  on  the  yeare,  with  seasons  double  twise 
Do  waite :  that  so  I  may  describe  it  right 6 
That  so  I  may  describe  the  verrie  guise 
By  thy  good  7  helpe  of  yeares  wherein  we  live 

1  Essayes,  that  when  in  verse  of  thee. 

2  Essayes,  This  onely  thing  I  earnestly  requyre. 

3  Essayes,  in. 

*  Essayes,  unto  Jove  thou  secound  art. 

6  Essayes.  /  do  descryve  thy  shyning  Carte. 

8  In  altering  the  sonnet  as  printed  in  the  Essayes,  a  line  was  lost  altogether. 
Cf.  Essayes,  11.  6-9 :  — 

That  when  I  lyke  for  subject  to  devyse 
To  wryte,  how  as  before  thy  countenaunce  bright 
The  yeares  do  stand,  with  seasons  double  twyse, 
That  so  I  may  descryve  the  verrie  guyse,  etc. 

7  Essayes,  Thus  by  thy. 


:  37 

As  readers  sine  may  saye  here  suirlie  lyis  10 

Of  seasons  foure  the  glasse  and  picture  vive 
And  grante  l  that  so  I  may  my  verses  warpe 
As  thou  may  playe  them  sine  upon  thy  harpe. 

[XLV]2 

O  mightie  sonne  of  Semele  the  faire 
O  Bacchus  borne  by  Jove  the  God  of  might 
O  twise  borne  boye,  who  ever  does,  and  dare 
Subdue  all  mortall  with  thy  liquour  wight 
Who  with  thy  power  blinded  hath 3  the  sight  5 

To  sume,  to  others  thou  the  eares  have  deaffed 
From  sume  thou  takes  the  taste,  sume  smelling  right 
Doeth  lacke,  sume  touching,  sume  all  five  bereaved 
Are  of  thee,4  the  greate  Alexandre  craved 
Thy  mercie  oft,  our  maistre  poete  now  10 

Is  warde  by  the  ;  we  smaller  then  sail  leave  it 
To  strive  with  the.     Then  on  his  tombe  I  vowe 
Shall  be,  Here  lyis  whome  Bacchus  by  his  wyne 
Hath  trapped  first,  and  made  him  render  sine. 

[XLVI] 

A  SONNETT  ON  S*  WILLIAM  ALEXANDER'S  HARSHE 
VERSES  AFTER  THE  INGLICHE  FASONE  5 

Hould  6  hould  your  hand,  hould,  mercy,  mercy,  spare 
Those  sacred  nine  that  nurst  you  many  a  yeare 

1  Essayes,  Grant  als. 

1  Crossed  out  in  the  MS.  Printed  in  Rait,  with  the  supplied  title,  Sonnet 
to  Bacchus.  Rait  notes  its  reference  to  Montgomerie,  though  not  the  fact 
that  it  indicates  his  death. 

3  Rait,  blinditkes.  4  Rait  omits  thee. 

5  Title  and  poem  in  the  hand  of  Carey.  Printed  in  The  Earl  of  Stir- 
ling's Register  of  Royal  Letters  relative  to  the  affairs  of  Scotland  and  Nova 
Scotia  from  1615  to  1635,  ed.  Rev.  Charles  Rogers,  Edin.,  1885,  Introd.,  p.  xi, 
from  a  MS.  in  the  collection  of  Sir  David  Balfour  in  the  Advocates  Lib. 
Rogers  has  the  following  title :  The  Complain  te  of  the  Muses  to  Alexander  upon 
him  selfe,  for  his  ingratitude  towards  them,  by  hurting  them  with  his  hard  ham- 
mered wordes,  fitter  to  be  used  upon  his  mineralles.  '  Rog.,  0. 


38 

Full  oft  alas  with  comfort  and  with  care 
Wee  bath'd  you  in  Castalias  fountaine  1  cleare 
Then  on  our  winges  aloft  wee  did  you  beare 
And  set  you  on  our  stately  forked  hill 
Where  2  you  our  heavnly  harmonyes  did  heare 
The  rockes  resoundinge  with  there  Echoes  still 
Although  your  neighbours  have  conspir'd  to  spill 3 
That  art  which 4  did  the  Laurel  crowne  obtaine 
And  5  borowing  from  the  raven  there  ragged  quill 
Bewray  there  harsh,  hard  6  trotting  tumbling  wayne 
Such  hamringe  hard  the  7  me  tails  hard  require 
Our  songs  are  fil'd  with  smoothly  flowing  8  fire. 


[XLVII] 

A  SONET  AGAINST  THE  COULD  THAT  WAS  IN  JANUARY  l6l6  9 

How  cruely  these  catiffs  doe  conspire 
What  loathsome  love  breeds  such  a  baleful  band, 
Betwixt  the  cancred  Kinge  of  Creta  land 
That  melancholy  ould  and  angry  syre 

I         And  him  who  wont  to  quench  debaite  and  ire 

Amongst  the  Remains  when  his  ports  were  clos'd 
But  now  his  double  face  is  still  dispos'd 
With  Saturns  helpe  to  freeze  us  at  the  fire 
The  earth  or'e-covered  with  a  sheete  of  snow 

>         Refuses  foode  to  foule  to  bird  and  beast 
The  chillinge  cold  letts  every  thing  to  grow 
And  surfets  cattil  with  a  starving  feast 

i 

1  Rog.,  founteyns.  5  Rog.,  Who. 

2  Rog.,  When.  6  Rog..  hard,  harsh. 
*  Rog.,  kill.  7  Rog.,  youre. 

4  Rog.,  that. 

8  Rog.,  smooth  overflowing.    This  and  youre  preceding  are  MS.  corrections 
in  the  hand  of  James  (Roger's  note). 

9  Title  and  poem  in  the  hand  of  Carey.     Printed  in  The  Works  of 
William  Drummond  of  Hawthornden,   Edin.,  1711,  p.  149.     Printed  from 
Drummond  in  Earl  of  Stirling's  Register  of  Royal  Letters,  Introd.,  p.  xii. 


39 

Curst  bee  that  Love  and  may't 1  continue  short 
That  kills  all  creaturs  and  doth  spoile  our  sport. 

[XLVIII] * 

Not  orientall  Indus  cristall  streames ; 
Nor  frutfull  Nilus,  that  no  bankes  can  thole ; 
Nor  golden  Tagus ;  wher  bright  Titans  beames, 
Ar  headlongst  hurled,  to  vew  the  Antartike  Pole ; 

Nor  Ladon  (wch  sweet  Sidney  dothe  extole)  5 

While  it,  th'  Arcadian  Beauties  did  embrace : 
All  these  cannot,  thee,  nameless  thee,  controle ; 
But,  with  good  right,  must  rander  &  give  place : 

For,  whilst  sweete  she,  voutsafest  to  show  her  face, 
And,  with  her  presence,  honnors  thee  ilke  daye ;  I0 

Thou  slyding,  seemest,  to  have  a  slower  pace, 
Against  thy  will,  as  if  thou  went  away ; 

And,  loathe  to  leave,  the  sight  of  suche  a  one 

Thou  still  imparts,  thy  plaints,  to  every  stone. 

[XLIX]2 

Faire  famous  Isle,  where  Agathocles  rang ; 
Where  sometymes,  statly  Siracusa  stood ; 
Whos  fertill  feelds,  were  bathed  in  bawgsters  blood 
When  Rome,  &  ryvall  Carthage,  strave  so  lang  : 

Great  Ladie  Mistriss,  all  the  Isles  amang,  5 

Which  standes  in  Neptunes,  circle  mouving,  flood ; 
No,  nather  for  thy  frutefull  ground  nor  good ; 
I  chuse  the,  for  the  subject  of  my  sang ; 

Nor,  for  the  ould  report,  of  scarce  trew  fame  ; 
Nor  heeretofore,  for  farelies  in  the  found ;  10 

But,  for  the  sweet  resemblance  of  that  Name, 
To  whom  thou  seemest,  so  sibb,  at  least,  in  sound ; 

If  then,  for  seeming  so,  thy  prays  bee  such ; 

Sweet  she  her  selfe,  dothe  merit  more  then  much. 

1  Drummond,  mought.  2  Handwriting  of  Charles. 


40 


UPON  OCCASION  OF  SOME  GREAT  DISORDERS  IN  SCOTLAND  x 

O  cruell  constellation  that  conspird 
Before  my  birth  my  bale  sa  sharpe  &  saire 

0  miserable  Mother  that  desir'd 

The  Midwife  wise  na  paines  on  me  to  spaire 
5     In  vaine  wase  milke  my  meate  a  yeare  &  maire 

In  vaine  therafter  wase  I  speand  alace 

In  vaine  ye  wise  Pierides  tooke  a  caire 

To  bring  me  bravely  up  in  everie  cace 

In  vaine  ye  made  me  syne  to  take  a  place 
10     Upon  that  forked  hill  in  honnour  hie 

In  vaine  descended  I  of  Royal  race 

Wch  by  succession  made  a  King  of  me 
All  were  but  shawes  Marcellus  sure  am  I 
Or  Job  whaise  patience  Sathan  thinkes  to  try. 

[LI] 

An  admonition  to  the  Master  poet  to  be  warr  of  great 
bragging  hereafter,  lest  he  not  onlie  slander  him  selfe; 
bot  also  the  whole  professours  of  the  art  :  2  — 

Give  patient  eare  to  sumething  I  man  saye 
Beloved  Sanders  maistre  of  our  art 
The  mouse  did  helpe  the  lion  on  a  daye 
So  I  protest  ye  take  it  in  good  part 
5     My  admonition  cumming  from  a  hart 
That  wishes  well  to  you  and  all  your  craft 
Who  woulde  be  sorie  for  to  see  you  smart 
Thogh  other  poets  trowes  ye  be  gone  daft. 

A  friend  is  aye  best  knowen  in  tyme  of  neede 
xo     Which  is  the  cause  that  gars  me  take  such  caire 

1  Title  in  Carey's  handwriting,  poem  in  Charles's.     Between  this  and 
the  Admonition,  on  fol.  45  b,  occurs  a  second  insertion,  in  Charles's  hand, 
of  the  Sonnet  on  Mr  Pa.  Adamsons  Paraphrase  of  Job.     Cf  .  ante,  XXII. 

1  The  entire  poem  crossed  out  in  the  MS.     Printed  in  Rait,  with  the  title, 
Ane  Admonition  to  the  Maister  Poete  to  leave  of  greit  crakking. 


41 

Now  for  your  state  since  there  is  cause  indeede 

For  all  the  poets  leaves  you  standing  baire 

Olde  crucked  Robert  makes  of  you  the  haire 

And  elfegett  Polward  helpes  the  smitthie  smuike 

He  comptes  you  done,  and  houpes  but  anie  mair  15 

His  tyme  about,  to  winne  the  chimnay  nuike 

Bot  as  the  guid  chirurgian  oft  does  use 
I  meane  to  rype  the  wounde  before  he  heal'd 
Appardone  me  1 1  thinke  it  no  excuse 
Suppose  I  tell  the  cause  why  they  have  rail'd  20 

And  sine  considder  whither  ye  have  fail'd 
Or  what  hath  caus'd  them  this  waye  to  backbite  you 
Into  that  craft  they  never  yett  prevail'd 
Albeit  of  late  they  houpe  for  to  outflite  you. 

For  ye  was  cracking  crouslie  of  your  broune,  2S 

If  Robert  lie  not,  all  the  other  night 
'That  there  was  anie  like  him  in  this  toune 
Upon  the  grounde  ye  wolde  not  lett  it  light 
He  was  so  fine  speedie  yaulde  and  wight 
For  to  be  shorte  he  was  an  A  per  se  3° 

Bot  yett  beleeve  2  ye  saw  an  other  sight 
Or  all  was  done  (or  Robins  rithme 3  does  lie. 

Thus  cracked  ye  and  bragged  but  replie 
Or  answer  made  by  anie  present  then 
As  Dares  did,  when  as  he  did  ou'rhye  35 

Eneas  court  nor  could  not  finde  a  man 
That  match  him  durst ;  the  stirke  for  him  that  wann 
Which  ordain'd  was,  he  craved  at  ^Enes  hand 
And  saide  since  there  is  none  that  doe  or  can 
Be  matche  to  me  what  longer  shall  I  stand.  4° 

Delaye  no  more,  bot  give  me  the  rewarde 
Preordinate  for  them  that  victor  war 

1  Rait,  &•.  »  Rait,  bdiue.  »  Rait,  ryme. 


42 

Thus  Dares  ended  hot  ^Eneas  stairde 
The  campe  about,  since  there  is  none  that  darr 
45     ^Eneas  saide,  hot  all  seemes  verrie  skarr 

T'essaye  l  yone  man  gar  bring  the  bullock  soone 
Thus  as  he  bade  they  broght  the  bullocke  narr 
Which  hade  his  homes  ou'rgilded  all 2  abone. 

Amongs  the  armie  which  were  witnes  thair 
50     And  not  but  wonder  harde  yone  Dares  boaste 

Entellus  raise  a  man  of  stature  mair 

Nor  Dares  was,  and  saide  cheefe  of  our  hoaste 

I  now  repent  my  former  youthe  is  loste 

Bot  since  I  see  he  shames  your  armie  so 
55     Have  at  him  then,  it  shall  be  on  his  coste 

As  I  beleeve,  if  Jove  be  not  my  foe. 

The  circumstances  of  this  bargane  keene 
I  will  remitt  to  Virgils  ornate  stile 
Bot  well  I  watt  Entellus  soone  was  seene 
60     By  all  to  winne  :  So  cracked  ye  a  while 

That  none  might  neere  you  scarcelie  by  a  mile, 
Till  your  Entellus  harde  you  at  the  last 
The  daye  was  sett,  bot  ye  begoode 3  to  smile 
For  scorne,  and  thought  to  winne  by  running  fast. 

65         The  wavering  worde  did  spredde  abroade  belive 
Of  all  your  crackes  and  bargane  that  was  made 
Each  one  with  other  bussilie  did  strive 
Who  should  be  soonest  at  that  solemne  rade 
That  they  might  judge  which  of  the  horse  shoulde  leade 

70  Ye  saide  there  woulde  no  question  be  of  that 
Besides  ye  saide  ye  caired  not  all  there  feade 
Brecke  as 4  they  woulde,  the  race  it  should  no  latt. 

That  night  ye  ceis'd  and  went  to  bed,  bot  grien'd 
Yett  fast  for  day,  and  thocht  the  nicht  to  lang 

1  Rait,  to  sey.  3  Rait,  begouth. 

*  Rait,  as.  *  Rait,  brekis. 


43 

At  last  Diana  doune  her  heade  reclin'd  .75 

Into  the  sea,  then  Lucifer  up  sprang 

Auroras  poste  whome  she  did  send  amang 

The  gettie  cloudes  for  to  foretell  ane  houre 

Before  she  staye  her  teares  which  Ovide  sang 

Was  for  her  love  which  turned  into  a  floure.  80 

Fra  Lucifer  hade  thus  his  message  done 
The  rubie  virgin  came  for  to  forspeeke 
Apollos  cumming  in  his  glistring  throne 
Who  suddainlie  therafter  cleare  did  keeke 
Out  through  his  cart  where  Eb'iis  was  eke  85 

With  other  three  which  Phaeton  hade  drawen 
About  the  earthe  till  he  became  so  seeke 
As  he  fell  doune  where  Neptune  fand  him  fawen. 

Bot  to  conclude  the  houre  appointed  came 
Ye  made  you  readie  for  to  rinne  the  race  90 

Ye  bracke  togither,  and  ranne  out  the  same, 
As  Robin  sayes,  it  had  bene  fil'd  your  face 
It  chanc'd  ye  were  forerunne  a  prettie  space 
A  mile  or  more,  that  keeped  it  so  cleene 
When  all  was  done  ye  hade  so  evill l  a  grace  95 

Ye  stoll  awaye  and  durst  no  more  be  scene. 

Alias 
Ye  stoll  awaye,  and  looked  like  Rob  steene. 

Remember  of  my  protestation  now 
And  thinke  that  love  hath  gar'd  me  take  these  paines 
Fooles  counsell  whiles  will  helpe  the  wise 2 1  trowe  100 

Which  reason  makes  me  thus  to  breake 3  my  braines 
Great  happe  hath  he  whome  others  perils  gaines 
That  moved  me  nou  for  to  4  repeate  yone  storie, 

1  Rait,  ill.  *  Orig.,  Rait,  will  hdpe  wise  men. 

*  Orig.,  R'ait,  is  the  cause  that  garrs  me  brake. 

4  Rait,  mouit  me  for  to.     Nou  is  inserted  by  James,  and  the  two  pre- 
ceding changes  are  in  his  hand. 


44 

Proude  Dares  fall  for  all  his  might  and  meanes 
i°S     Coulde  no  wayes  teache  you  to  bewarre  of  glorie 
Nor  yett  woulde  ye  not  call  to  memorie 
What  grounde  ye  gave  to  Christian  Lindsay  by  it 
For  now  she  sayes  which  makes  us  all  full  sorie 
Your  craft  to  lie,  with  leave,  now  have  I  tried  1 
1 10        The  proverbe  sayes  that  mends  is  for  misdeed 
Cracke  not  againe  no  forder  then  the  creede. 

I  William  Mow  at  after  supper  lawing 
With  pen  and  drinke  compil'd  you  this  propine 
I  gatt  it  ended  long  before  the  dawing 
us     Such  pith  hade  Bacchus  ou'r  me  God  of  wine : 
Againe  ye  cumme  if  ye  will  essey  me  sine 
To  trie  your  horse  that  lost  the  other  daye 
We  need  not  take  no  caire  which  of  us  tine 
Since  both  our  honours  is  long  since  awaye.2 

[LII] 

EX  LUCANO  LIBRO  QUINTO  3 

Caesaris  an  cursus  vestrae  sentire  putatis 
Damnum  posse  fugae  ?  et  ccet. 

If  all  the  floodes  amongs  them  wolde  conclude 
To  staye  there  course  from  running  in  the  sea 
And  by  that  meanes  wolde  thinke  for  to  delude 
The  Oceane  who  shoulde  impaired  be 
5    As  they  supponed,  beleeving  that  if 4  he 

Did  lacke  there  floodes  he  wolde  decrease  him  sell 

Yett  if  we  like  the  veritie  to  see  5 

It  paires  him  nothing  as  I  shall  you  tell 

1  Rait,  triit. 

*  Rait,  this  stanza  lacking. 

*  Poem  crossed  out  in  the  MS.,  with  the  note,  "This  is  alreadie  printed." 
Printed  in  The  Essayes  of  a  Prentise,  with  the  title,  A  Paraphrasticall  Trans- 
lation out  of  the  Poete  Lucane.    Printed  in  Rait,  with  no  notice  of  its  earlier 
appearance. 

*  Essayes,  if  that.  5  Essayes,  wye;  Rait,  vie. 


45 

For  out  of  him  they  are  augmented  all 
And  most  part  creatt  as  you  shall  persave  10 

For  when  the  Sunne  does  sucke  the  vapours  small 
Furth  of  the  sea  which  them  containe  and  have 
A  part  in  winde,  in  wite  and  raine  the  leave 
He  rander  does,  which  does  augment  the  strands 
Of  Neptuns  woll  a  cotte  *  sine  they  him  weave  15 

By  hurling  to  him  fast  out  ouer  the  lands. 

When  all  is  done,  doe  to  him  what  they  can 
None  can  perceave  that  they  doe  swell  him  mair 
I  putt  the  cace  then  that  they  never  rann 
Yett  noghthelesse  that  wolde  him  no  wayes  paire  20 

What  needes  he  then  to  compte  it  or  to  caire 
Except  there  follie  wolde  the  more  be  shawen 
Since  thogh  they  staye  it  harmes  him  not  a  haire 
What  gaine  they  thogh  they  hade  there  course  withdrawen. 

Then  2  even  siclyke 3  thogh  subjects  doe  conjure  25 

For  to  rebell  against  there  Prince  and  King 
By  leaving  him  allthogh  they  houpe  to  smuire 
That  grace  wherewith  God  makes  him  for  to  raigne  4 
Thogh  by  his  gifts  he  shewe  him  selfe  benigne 
To  helpe  there  neede  and  make  them  therby  gaine  3° 

Yett  wante  of  them  to  him  no  harme  6  does  bring 
.When  they  to  rewe  there  follie  shall  be  faine. 

^  Then  floodes  runne  on  your  wonted  course  of  olde 
Which  God  by  Nature  duelie  hath  provided 
For  thogh  ye  staye  as  I  before  have  tolde  3S 

And  cast  a  6  doubt  which  God  hath  else  decided 
To  be  conjoined,  by  you  to  be  devided 
Ye  kithe  your  spite  yett  does  the  deepe  no  skaith 
For  7  better  were  in  others  cache  confided 
Ye  floodes,  thou  deepe,  which  were  your  dueties  baith.      40 

1  Essayes,  coate.  5  Essayes,  no  harme  to  him. 

2  Essayes,  So.  8  Essayes,  in;  Rait,  ane. 

3  Orig.,  such  like.     Changed  by  James.  7  Essayes,  Rait,  Fcure. 
*  Essayes,  Rait,  ring. 


46 
[LIII]  * 

SONG.      THE   FIRST  VERSES  THAT  EVER  THE   KING  MADE  2 

Since  thought  is  free,  thinke  what  thou  will 

0  troubled  hart  to  ease  thy  paine 
Thought  unrevealed  can  do  no  evill 3 
Bot  wordes  past  out,  cummes 4  not  againe 

5  Be  cairefull  aye  for  to  invent 

The  waye  to  gett  thy  owen  intent. 

To  pleas  8  thy  selfe  with  thy  6  concaite 
And  lett  none  knowe  what  thou  does  meane 
Houpe  aye  at  last,  though  it  be  late 
10  To  thy  intent  for  to  attaine 

Thoght  whiles  7  it  brake  forth  in  effect 
Yet 8  aye  lett  witt  thy  will  correct. 

Since  foole  haste  cumes  9  not  greatest  speede 

1  wolde  thou  shoulde  learne  for  to  knoaw  10 
15                How  to  make  vertue  of  a  neede 

Since  that  necessitie  hath  no  law 

With  patience  then  see  thou  attend 
And  houpe  to  vanquise  in  the  end. 

':»•* 

1  First  printed  in  Pinkerton's  Ancient  Scotish  Poems,  Lon.,  1786,  Vol.  I, 
p.  177,  from  the  MSS.  of  Sir  Richard  Maitland.  Printed  in  Calderwood's 
History  of  the  Kirk  of  Scotland,  Wodrow  Soc.,  1843,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  784,  from  a 
copy  in  Calderwood's  MS. 

1  Song  is  in  Charles's  hand,  the  rest  of  the  title  in  Carey's.  Pink., 
Sonet  be  King  James  77  ...  (with  summary  of  contents) ;  Cald.,  The 
King's  verses  when  he  was  Fyfteene  yeere  old. 

3  Pink.,  Cald.,  ill. 

*  Cald.,  turne. 

5  Orig.,  Pink.,  Cald.,  play. 

6  Pink,  has  awin  after  thy. 

7  Pink.,  Lat  quhillis;  Cald.,  Whiles,  lett. 

8  Pink.,  Bot;   Cald.,  By. 

9  Cald.,  is. 

10  Pink.,  Cald.,  7  wold  thou  shouldest  learne  to  know. 


47 

FRAGMENTA 

[LIV] 

AN  EPITHALAMION   UPON   THE   MARQUES   OF   HUNTLIES 
MARIAGE  r1 

If  ever  I  6  mightie  Gods  have  done  you  service  true 
In  setting  furth  2  by  painefull  pen  your  glorious  praises  due 
If  one  the  forked  hill  I  tredd,  if  ever  I  did  preasse 
To  drinke  of  the 3  Pegasian  spring,  that  flowes  without  re- 

leasse 

If  ever  I  on  Pindus  dwell'd,  and  from  that  sacred  hill         5 
The  eares  of  everie  living  thing  did  with  your  fame  fullfill 
Which  by  the  trumpett  of  my  verse  I  made  for  to  resounde 
From  pole  to  pole  through  everie  where  of  this  immobile 

rounde 
Then  graunte  to  me  who  patrone  am  of  Hymens  triumphe 

here 

That  all  your  graces  may  upon  this  Hymens  band  appeare.  10 
O  sonne  of  Cytherea  faire,  and  thou  Thalasse  withall 
Graunte  that  this  band  may  happelie  to  these  coupled 

folkes  befall 

And  6  Volumna  prent  a  will  into  there  coupled  harts 
Which  may  retaine  that  union  aye,  on  ather  of  there  parts 
O  Venus  make  them  brooddie  als  for  to  produce  with  speede  15 
Wherin  they  may  revive  againe  a  blest  and  happie  seede 
Vitunnus  and  Sentinus  als 4  in  happie  tyme  indue 
The  childe  when  as  it  is  conceav'd,  with  life  and  senses  true 
O  Prosa  with  Egeria  joyn'd,  and  thou  Lucina  bright 
Her  dolours  make  into  her  birth,  by  your  assisting,  light :  20 
O  thou  Levana  doe  with  love  and  cairefulnes  embrace 
The  babe  when  it  is  borne  which  shoulde  extend  there  happie 

race 

O  Vagitanus  playe  thy  part  and  safelie  doe  it  keepe 
From  all  misfortunes  and  mischance  when  as  it  first  does 

weepe 

1  Printed  in  Rait,  with  the  supplied  title,  A  Fragment  of  a  Masque. 
1  Rait,  out.  3  Rait,  yone.  *  Rait,  att. 


48 

2s  0  thou  Cunina  1  cairefullie  doe  watche  the  cradle  aye 
Preserving  it  from  sicknes  or  from  harme  in  anie  waye 
Rumina,  with  Edusa,  and  Potina  joyn'd,  doe  see 
That  when  it  sucking  is  or  wained,  the  foode  may  whole- 
some be 

And  also  for  there  upbringing,  O  Statilinus  caire 
3°  That  to  there  perfect  age  it  may  a  happie  waye  prepare 
And  thou  O  Fortune  to  conclude,  make  these  and  all  there 

race 

To  be  beloved  of  Gods  and  men,  and  thrive  in  everie  cace. 
If  for  my  saike  ye  Gods  above  these  graces  will  bestowe 
Before  these  nuptiall  dayes 2  sume  signe  to  me  for  promise 
show. 

Mercurius 

35     I  messager  of  Gods  above  am  here  unto  you  sent 
To  showe  by  proofe  your  tyme  into  there  service  well  is 

spent 
For  they  have  graunted  your  requeste  and  for  a  signe  and 

scale 
Since  they  them  selfs  amongs  you  men  doe  no  wayes  haunte 

nor 3  deale 

They  therfor  have  directed  here  to  honour  all  this  feast 
40  Faunes,  Satyrs,  Silvans,  that  approache  there  natures  neare 

at  least 
And  as  4  for  there  conductour  have  they  sent  the  whisler 

Pan 

Who  thogh  a  God  yett  drawes  he  neare  the  nature  of  a  man 
With  Naiades,  Hamadryades,  Nymphes  of  waters,  woods, 

and  wells 
To  judge  on  everie  sporte  wherat  there  brethren  with  you 

mells 

1  Orig.,  Rait,  Cumina. 

2  Orig.,  Rait,  Before  these  nuptiall  dayes  be  done  sume  signe  for  promise 
show. 

1  Rait,  &•.  «  Rait,  als. 


49 

And  as  for  me  for  my  adieu,  I  drinke  unto  you  here  45 

The  home  of  Amalthcee,  with  lucke,  with  wealth  and  mirrie 
cheere. 

Nymphes 

We  l  are  sent  by  Gods  above  with  these  our  brethren  deare 
Who  are  prepared  for  glove,  or  ring,  or  anie  sporte  with 

speare 
And  we  have  broght  for  victours  pryse  this  yellow  garland 

rounde 
Woven  of  our  haire,  with  pearls  therat,  which  we  in  fishes 

founde.  50 

Then  knights  goe  to,  and  make  you  for  it,  we  can  no  further 

saye 
Essaye  you  brethren,  thogh  I  graunte,  unused  at  such  a 

playe. 

Agrestis 

Good  Sirs  the  marvelous  dimming  here  of  these  goode 

neighbours  mine 

Hath  moved  me  for  to  come  and  see,  this  jollie  feast  and  fine 
Such  allridge  people  hi  such  a  sort  to  cumme  to  plenished 

grounde  55 

But  anie  fraye  and  guided  by  a  man  was  never  founde 
Good  faith  before  was  never  harde  the  like  of  my  convoye 
No  since  Deucaleons  floode,  I  trowe  ye  call  it  the  floode  of 

Noe 
Me  think  e  Saincte  Marie  gentles  here  makes  for  sume  game 

and  glee 
Wa  sume  good  Sir  lenn  me  a  speare,  what  racks  essaye2 

and  see.  60 

The  valliant  actes,  the  workes  of  worthie  fame 
That  bruite  hath  blowen  abroade  through  everie  whair 
Of  King  and  Court  of  Scotlands  noble  name 
There  Martiall  games,  and  pastymes  brave  and  faire 

1  Rait  has  heir  after  We.  2  Rait,  to  say. 

4 


50 

65  Sume  does  your  Court,  to  Arthures  court  compaire 
Sume  sayes  to  Charles  the  magnes  it  may  be  peere 
This  bruit  at  last  made  wandering  knights  repaire 
From  forrane  uncouthe  lands  and  travell  here 
Fra  they  arrived  they  sent  me  soone  to  speare 

70  If  anie  in  your  Court  woulde  them  essaye 
To  runne  at  ring  or  prove  sume  games  at  warre 
They  three  shall  be  defendours  at  the  playe. 

Sirs  thogh  this  language  seeme  both  hard  and  haske 
Appardone  new  come  strangers  in  a  maske.1 

[Scholar] 

75         0  Gods  above  how  I  am  ravish'd  now 
A  heavenlie  Goddesse  is  come  doune  I  trowe 
Our  senses  to  delude :  what  ever  she  be 
She  peerles  is  as  all  men  will  agree 
And  therfor  Sirs  here  am  I  sent  before 

80     As  he  who  might  by  language  best  decore, 
As  schollers  can,  this  doubt  whom  to  the  faire 
Should  appartaine,  whome  of  ye  harde  declaire 
And  whome  into  at  equall  strife  doe  fall 
Wealth,  beautie,  noble  race,  and  vertues  all 

85     Eache  one  of  these  makes  her  a  suitour  here 
And  she  is  cume  unto  your  Grace  to  speare 
Whome  to  she  should  encline  of  all  this  rout 
Among  the  rest  Madame  leave  me  not  out. 

Woman,  i 

What  meanes  these  kappit  men  ?    what  can  this  be, 
90     Is  all  this  bussines  that  they  make  for  me  ? 

The  vertuous  man.  4 

The  sacred  state  of  marriage  it  was  made 
That  two  conjoyn'd  a  holie  life  might  leade 

1  The  sonnet  is  omitted  in  Rait. 


51 

Zanie.  5 

Good  even  Sirs  all,  good  faith  I  think  it  best 
You  quitte  me  this  and  take  you  all  the  rest. 

L.  G.1  i 

If  that  ye  please  Madame  to  make  me  yours  95 

My  rent  and  friends  shall  serve  you  at  all  houres 
God  if  my  father.     (Sould.2  2.)  What  a  kalland  is  this 
Place  sillie  man  Madame  I  will  not  misse 
To  ware  for  you  this  hand  and  sworde  of  mine 
A  man  of  spirit  his  honour  will  not  tine.  100 

Scholler.  3 

I  can  with  pen  your  prayses  due  proclame 
If  that  ye  please  accept  of  me  Madame. 

Vert?  4 

Your  vertues  rare  Madame  I  doe  respect 
I  promise  trueth  if  that  may  take  effect. 

Sould.  i 

If  anie  here  hath  skill  of  fense  come  prove  105 

Three  markett  strockes  before  my  onlie  love. 

L.  G.  2 

If  that  the  morrowe  4  Madame  chance  to  be  faire 
Please  see  two  speedie  grayhounds  rinn  a  haire. 

Schol.  3 

If  that  ye  please  Madame  a  song  to  heare 
I'l  sett  the  toone,  and  make  the  chareshoh  8  cleare  no 

1  Rait,  L[andwart]  G[entleman].  8  Rait,  Vert[uouse  man],  ' 

1  Rait,  S[oldat].  *  Rait,  morne. 

6  Probably  intended  for  chorus;  the  MS.  is  obscure.     Rait  reads,  7  sett 
the  toone  &•  maid  the  aers  long  eir. 


52 


Sould.  2 

I  whome  no  bloodie  battells  coulde  effraye 
Am  now  become  a  simple  womans  praye, 
Bot  what  ?  no  woman  bot  a  Goddesse  bright 
No  shame  to  blinded  be  with  suche  a  light. 


"5         If  friends  or  rent  may  serve  my  turne  in  this 
1  houpe  to  get  this  Ladie  full  of  blisse. 


[LV] 


,TIES 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  HIS  M        JURNEI  TO  DENMARKE  J  NEVER 

ENDED1 

True  is  that  saying  us'd  of  olde  amongs  philosophes  wise 
That  to  eschue  his  destinie  in  no  mans  hands  it  lies 
And  thogh  that  they  as  ethnicks  blinde  on  fortune  laide  the 

cause 
And  on  the  course  and  influence  of  starres  and  of  there 

lawes, 

5  Yett  doe  we  Christians  clearlie  knowe  that  it  is  God  alone 
Who  did  before  beginnings  all,  on  wor/dlie  2  things  dispone 
Even  he  into  his  glorious  and  stedfast  shining  throne 
Hath  given  to  everie  thing  a  tyme  when  as  it  must  be  done 
That  thogh  this  statelie  heaven  we  see,  the  seas,  and  solide 

grounde 

10  Must  perish,  and  must  changed  be  into  a  suddaine  stounde 
Yett  not  a  worde  of  his  decrees  shall  ever  fall  in  vaine 
Bot  must  be  at  that  instant  done,  he  did  for  it  ordaine 
And  so  as  I  have  saide  it  does  from  Gods  preordining  flowe 
The  certaintie  of  destinies,  and  not  of  starres  does  growe 
15  For  they  as  simple  creatures  can  no  wayes  guided  be 
Except  by  him  that  creatt  them,  then  judge  how  like  is  he 

1  Title  in  the  hand  of  Charles.     Printed  in  Rait,  with  the  supplied  title, 
On  his  own  Destiny.  2  The  /  supplied  by  the  editor. 


53 

That  can  not  stande  nor  rule  him  selfe,  to  guide  so  manie 

things 
lurne  famous  kingdomes  upside  doune,  make  and  unmake 

there  Kings 
Thus  Ethnicks  fonde  thogh  wor/dlie  wise,  not  knowing  anie 

God 

Did  first  invent  that  fortune  and  the  starres  did  rule  the  rod  20 
For  like  a  blindman  lacking  light  they  wandered  here  and 

there 
By  guesse  with  groaping,  stumbling  oft,  bot  knewe'not  how 

nor  where 
And  since  sume  Christians  on  there  stepps  Cimmerians  hath 

no  shame 
To  take  upon  them  to  debaite  and  putt  in  proofe  the  same. 

0  2  soft  and  faire,  redounding  Muse  returne  into  thy  waye  25 
Thou  chooses  here  to  large  a  fielde,  and  to  to  far  astraye 
And  worse  then  that,  thou  are  to  weake  a  Momus  to  be 

bolde 

So  manie  learned  men  to  impugnethat  this  conjecture3  holde. 
Then  to  returne  to  destinies,  how 4  none  can  them  eschue 

1  may  affirme  that  in  my  selfe,  I  proved  it  to  be  true  30 
For  I  as  being  a  King  by  birth,  it  seam'd  my  lott  was  made 
Thaire  to  resyde  quhaire  god  my  charge  6°  burthen  on  me 

laide  5 

And  lacking  parents,  brethren,  bairns  or  anie  neare  of  kinn 
In  cace  of  death,  or  absence  to  supplie  my  place  therin 
And  cheeflie  in  so  kitle  a  land,  where  few  remember  can     35 
For  to  have  seene  governing  there  a  King  that  was  a  man 
Yett 6  thogh  through  these  occasions  all,  it  was  my  settled 

minde 
That  I  shoulde  never  on  uncouthe  coastes  a  harberie  seeke 

to  finde :  ~ 

1  Rait,  uist.  *  Rait,  to  meet  and. 

2  Rait  omits  O.  *  Orig.,  Rait,  have  that  after  how. 

5  In  the  MS.  the  line  begins  with  the  words  to  gouverne,  added  by 
James  and  then  crossed  through  and  the  line  left  incomplete.  The  line 
in  its  present  form  appears  in  James's  hand  at  the  end  of  the  poem, 
with  a  sign  that  it  should  be  inserted  above.  Rait  has  Into  that  cuntrey 
to  be  tyed  quhaire  my  empire  uas  laide.  *  Orig.,  Rait,  And. 


64 
[LVI] 

A  PAIRT  OF  DU  BARTAS  FIRST  DAY :  1  — 

This  largenes  and  this  breadth  so  long, /this  highnes  so 

profounde, 
This   bounded  infinite,   the  masse/ confused    of    all    this 

rounde ; 
This  Chaos  lourde,  I  saye,  which  in /it  selfe  suche  uproares 

wroght, 
And  sawe  it2  in  one  moment  borne/in  nothing  made  of 

noght, 

5  The  brooddie  bodie  was  wherof/the  essence  pure  divine, 
And  foure  contending  brethren  ought /there  birth  to  bor- 

rowe  sine. 
Now  as  to  these  foure  elements,/these  twinne  sonnes  ment 

by  here, 
Towitt,  the  subtle  aire,  the  fire,/the  earthe,  and  waters 

cleere, 
Composed  they  are  not,  bot  of  them/is  all  composed  and 

made, 

10  That  can  into  our  senses  fall/or  may  be  thought  or  saide : 
Now 3  if  there  qualities  do  poure/ there  whole  effects  within 
Eache  part  of  everie  bodie  mixed/and  so  to  worke  beginne ; 
Or  whether  that  on  everie  part/ there  beings  they  confounde 
And  so  of  beings  double  twaine/one  bodie  doe  compounde  ; 
15  Even  as  within  the  bottome/deepe4  of  christall  glasses 

cleene, 

The  wine  with  the  Acheloian  sucke  6/for  to  be  mix'd  is  seene : 
Or  even  as  meate  which  wholesome  is,/and  subtle  liquour 

fine 

Doe  mixe  them  selfs  within  us  for/ to  change  in  chilus  sine. 

This  by  experience  may  we  see/into  the  stick  that  burnes, 

20  Unto  the  heaven  his  native  house/his  fire  full  swift  re- 

turnes, 

1  Printed  in  Rait,  with  the  first  half  of  the  first  line  as  title. 
1  Orig.,  Rait  has  selfe  after  it. 

*  Orig.,  Whither;  Rait,  quhither.     Changed  by  Carey. 
4  Rait,  hou  [hollow].  8Rait,  Achelien  sakke. 


55 

His  aire  it  flies  in  vanished  smocke,/his  earth  in  cendres 

falls, 

His  water  crackes  into  his  knotts,/and  as  for  succour  calls. 
Like  warre  dothe  holde  our  bod' 1  in  peace,/whose  earth 

her  flesh  e  it  bene, 

Who  does  into  her  vitall  spirits/her  fire  and  aire  contene, 
Her  water  in  her  humours  lies  r/yet 2  thou  can  see  no  part  25 
In  all  our  humaine  bodie,  where/cache  one  by  naturall  art 
Hath  not  his  mightie  vertues  mix'd,/allthogh  we  plainlie 

see 

That  ather  one  or  other  of  them/ the  cheefe  commander  be. 
Into  the  masse  of  seething  bloode/this  clayie  dregg  and 

thicke, 
Is  blacke  melancholic  which  sadd/does  to  the  bottome 

sticke,  30 

Composed  of  earthlie  substance  grosse;/in  bloode  the  aire 

abides, 
Which  pure  into  the  mids  doe 3  swimme  ;/the  humour  in 

the  sides 
It  is  the  colde  and  wattrie  phlegme  ;/this  foame  that  light 

does  flote 

And  holds  the  selfe  aloft,  it  is/ the  burning  cholere  hote. 
I  meane  not  that  cache  element/into  his  handes  4  retaines   35 
The  sceptre  of  one  bodie  aye,/his  tyme  about  he  raignes 
The  subject  making  for  to  stoupe/unto  his  lawe  and  will, 
And  als  oft  as  his  King  is  changed,/he  changeth  nature 

still: 

Even  as  without  respect  of  wealth,  /of  bloode  or  noble  race, 
Each  worthie  citizen  commandes/a    certaine    tyme    and 

space,  40 

In  citties  Democratick  free/that  suddainlie  appeare, 
Through  changing  of  there  magistrate/a  changing5  face  to 

beare : 

For  people  lightlie  agitate/with  clivers  humours  strange, 
Chameleon  like  with  manners  of/there   rulers   doe   they 

change. 

1  Orig.,  bodie.  *  Orig.,  Rait,  yea. 

*  Rait,  dots.  *  Rait,  hande.  B  Rait,  chaingit. 


56 

4s  Even  so  the  element  that  in/ the  wine   as   cheefe   doeth 

raigne, 
Whiles  makes  it  drie,  whiles   wacke,/whiles   hoate   and 1 

colde  againe 

By  there  commixtions  imperfect/or  perfect  in  it  plac'd 
Enforcing  it  to  change  as~  well/ of  vertue  as  of  taste : 
So  as  by  processe  of  the  tyme/the  verjusse  bitter  greene, 
soSweete  winne  becummes,  then  stronger  wine, /sine  vinaigre 

it  bene. 
Now  even  as  when  a  Prince  or  King/ does  over  us  so  com- 

mande, 

As  underneath  the  yoake  of  law/he  gars  his  greatnes  stande ; 
He  rules 2  without    suspicion,   and/ the    common    wealth 

enjoyes 

Most  happilie  a  quiet  state/ without  tyrannique  toyes: 
55  Bot  if  that  cruell  Tyranne  like/he  never  satiate  be, 
With  his  good  subjects  saickles  bloode,/and  if  his  sworde 

doe  flie 

To  bloodie  sharpe  the  scabert  still, /his  rage  it  will  not  spare 
In  end   to    turne  his  civill3  land /in  deserts  wilde   and 

bare. 

The  like  falls  out  when  as  one  of/ the  elements  empires, 
6oOuer  his  three  fellowes  modestlie,/and  not  there  wracke 

requires ; 

And  when  as  a  proportion/affeirand  joynes  we  see 
The  subject  humours  with   the   cheefe,/ though   they  un- 

equall  be: 

The  bod'  4  in  being  then  abides/and  als  it  dothe  retaine, 
The  speciall  draughts  of  all  his  forme/ which  outwardlie 

remaine. 

65  Bot  if  that  like  unto  that  King/ who  barb'rous  did  desire 
That  all  the  cittizens  of  his/ most  mightie  great  empire, 
Boore  bot  one  craige  that  by  that  meanes/(6  cruel  tie)  he 

might; 
By  one  greate  blowe  bereave  the  lives/of  all  the  Romans 

quitt. 

1  Rait  has  sum  tymes  after  and.  8  Rait,  cruill. 

*  Rait,  reades.  *  Orig.,  bodie. 


57 

[LVII] 

THE  BEGINNING  OF  MR  DU  BARTAS  EDEN  :  — 

Thou  mightie  God,  that  of  the  worlde  the  birth  did  make 

me  see, 

Unf olde  her  credle  also  now,  her  childehoode  showe l  to  me : 
And  make  my  spirit  to  walke  athort  the  turning  florish'd 

wayes 

Of  savourie  gardens,  where  into  still  crooked  but  anie  stayes 
Of  rivers  foure  the  courses  quicke  :  declare  me  what  offence  s 
From  Edens  both,  chas'd  Adams  selfe  and  seede  for  his  pre- 
tense : 

And  tell  who  of  immortall  did  him  selfe  an  mortall  make, 
To  bring  from  heaven  the  antidote  to  us  which  we  did  take. 
Give  thou  me  grace  the  storie  of  the  church  to  sing  aright, 
And  als  the  storie  of  the  Kings;  and  grante  that  by  thy 

might  10 

I  guide  the  worlde  unto 2  her  grave,  my  purpose  making  leste 3 
Even  from  the  first  of  Sabboths  all  unto  the  hinmest  rest. 
Well  knowe  I  that  this  surgie  sea  is  lacking  marche  or 

grounde, 

Bot  6  thou  holie  pilote  greate  will  guide  me  safe  and  sounde, 
Unto  the  haven  of  my  desire,  where  droucked  then  I  shall ;  15 
Extoll  thy  mercies  maniefolde  and  paye  my  vowes  withall. 
O  sacred  floure  du  lis  whose  youth  does  promise  to  us  all, 
That  even  thy  famous  laurells  greene  matche  Alexanders 

shall; 

Since  that  for  to  obeye  thy  will  I  flie  into  the  skies, 
Convoye  my  course  with  loving  eye,  and  helpe  the  faults  rise  20 
From  my  to  blounted  fruictles  pen ;  in  Pampelone  so  sume 

daye 
Maye  thou  winne  home  thy  croune  againe  the  which  was 

reft  awaye : 

So  of  thy  neighbours  evermore  maye  thou  the  honour  be, 
The  love  of  all  thy  subjects  true,  and  foes  to  feare  for  the : 

1  Orig.,  now.     This  and  the  next  two  changes  are  by  James. 

2  Orig.,  into.  3  Orig.,  laste. 


58 

25  So  never  may  the  heaven  against  the  showe  his  wrathefull 

face, 

Bot  the  Eternall  be  thy  arme,  his  Spirit  thy  guiding  trace ; 
So  with  my  shearing  sworde  in  hande  and  fighting  at  thy  side 
May  I  ou'rclothed  with  bloode  and  stoure  so  boldlie  by 

the  bide, 
As  for  to  cleave  the  Spaignoll  hoaste,  or  force  sume  seaged 

toune 

30  The  combatt  done  forVirgill  serve  to  publish  thyrenoune. 
God  did  not  onlie  (Soveraigne  Prince)  the  whole  command 

bestowe 

On  our  forefather  Adam  of  this  earthe  and  all  belowe 
In  making  subject  to  his  yoake  the  scalie  swimming  race 
Who  with  there  little  fins  doe  cleave  the  frothie  seas  apace ; 
35  And  these  that  have  no  other  holde  bot  horrour  of  deserts 
And  these  that  bricole  through  the  vaste  of  aire  that  feathers 

partis : 
Bot  choosed  him  als  an  dwelling  place  which  happie  was  and 

more, 

With  climat  temperate  and  faire,  the  which  the  dentie  Flore 
With  variant  ameling  paimented  *  of  springing  floures  most 

sweete, 
40  Adorned  with  Pomones  fruicts,  and  als  with  Zephyrs  smells 

repleete : 

Where  God  him  selfe  did  lavell  just  the  alles  with  his  line, 
Ou'rcover  all  the  hills  with  trees,  with  harvest  the  vallies  sine ; 
And  with  the  sounde  of  thousand  brookes  adjourned  the 

sweetest  sleepe: 
Made  cabinets  faire  at  proofe  of  Sunne  which  out  his  beames 

did  keepe, 
45  He  squar'd  a  garden,  and  als  he  did  plante,  cleange,  and 

labour  sine 

The  everliving  fairenesse  of  an  fertle  orchard  fine : 
The  sacred  rivers  courses  als  he  parted  here  and  there, 
And  with  a  thousand  coulours  peints  the  face  of  meddowes 

faire. 

1  Orig.,  Did  payment  with  the  aimeling  faire.     Changed  by  Charles  or 
Carey. 


APPENDIX   I 

PROSE   PIECES    IN    THE    MUSEUM   MANUSCRIPT 

I 

"The  confession  of  Mr  John  Hammilton  the  Jesuit,  with  his 
Maties  confutation  therof."  1  In  Latin. 

n 

"A  letter  of  Sr  Walter  Lyndsayes  with  an  answer  therunto  of 
his  Maties."  2  In  English.  Lyndsay,  who  has  recently  become 
a  Catholic,  attacks  the  Kirk  in  a  series  of  ten  questions,  which 
are  answered  by  the  King  with  great  sharpness  and  credit. 

m 

[A  SCHEME  FOR  A  POEM3] 

Within  short  space  after  the  writting  of  my  Sonnets  and 
suites  to  the  Gods,  it  chanced  Iris  to  cume  doune,  as  she  uses 
to  doe  upon  the  ordinarie  counsell  dayes  of  the  Gods;  to  the 
effect  that  if  the  Earthe,  or  Thetis,  or  the  small  Gods,  Nymphs, 
or  Satyrs  of  woodes  or  waters,  have  anie  complainte  or  suite 
to  be  given  in  to  the  counsell  of  the  Gods,  that  she  may  carie 
them  to  them.  Fra  tyme  I  sawe  her,  I  gave  her  my  suite ;  she 
saide  it  was  not  lawfull  to  her  to  accept  anie  mortalls  suite: 
my  answer  was  that  I  desired  her  onlie  to  give  it  to  the  Muses, 
and  that  if  they  tooke  not  upon  them  to  presente  it  to  the  Gods, 
I  was  content  she  should  rive  it.  Upon  that  she  presented  it 
to  them,  who  joining  Mercure  with  them,  did  as  I  looked  for, 
and  finding  the  Gods  at  the  counsell  delivered  the  bill  unto  them, 
thus  far  in  rithme.4  After  the  reading  wherof  they  sollisted  there 
answer,  as  they  who  hade  interest,  in  a  few  verse  of  ballet 

1  Fols.  61-63  6.  »  Fols.  64-65.  «  Fols.  65  b-67- 

*  Note  in  the  margin,  damaged  by  clipping :  [U]rania  in  na[me]  of  the 
\fir]st  did  speake, 

59 


60 

royall :  there  purpose  ended  and  Jupiter  readie  to  aske  the  votes, 
Envie  cummes  in  and  oppones  in  tragicall  verse;  the  parties 
being  removed,  Jupiter  beginnes  to  take  the  votes,  and  first  he 
speares  Apollos  vote  in  ballet  royall,  who  in  the  like  verse  showes 
him  selfe  verrie  favourable  to  the  suite,  and  halfe  partie :  Pallas 
raisonneth  against  him  in  the  like  verse.  In  the  meane  tyme 
Diana  cumming  in  to  the  counsell  house,  foregathers  the  Muses  in 
the  utter  house,  who  desires  her  to  be  favourable  to  the  suite,  and 
in  two  sonnetts  describes  her  power  over  the  witches,  and  her 
hunting  in  the  woodes  ad  captandam  benevolentam.  Within 
short  space  after  her  cumming  in,  Jupiter  straikes  a  stroake, 
and  a  midds  betwixt  Apollo  and  Pallas  in  heroicall  verse,  promis- 
ing in  his  sentence  that  it  shall  be  possible  to  me,  or  anie  mortall 
hereafter  to  attaine  to  that  perfection,  if  having  a  good  ingine 
he  will  take  all  earnest  paines  and  travells  whill  he  obtaine  unto 
it.  This  sentence  he  commands  Mercure  to  bring  doune  unto 
me :  then  I  describe  there  glorious  rising,  and  gladd  parting  from 
other,  in  the  like  verse.  Then  Mercurius  according  to  Jupiters 
command,  letts  this  decreet  slide  of  his  wande  in  my  bed,  whill 
I  am  sleeping.  To  conclude  all,  I  showe  in  a  sonnett,  how  greate 
a  grace  the  Gods  hath  granted,  exhorting  all  men  as  well  as  my 
selfe,  to  spare  no  paines  nor  travells,  to  attaine  to  so  great  an 
honour,  seing  no  honour  may  be  reaped  without  travell. 

IV 

"His  Maties  letter  to  Mr  du  Bartas."  r  In  French.  Printed 
in  Rait.  The  King  praises  the  poetry  of  Du  Bartas  and  urges 
a  visit  to  Scotland  during  the  following  summer  (1587),  as  early 
as  May  if  possible. 

V 

[A    LETTER    TO    CHANCELLOR    MAITLANI)]  2 

Being  cleene  exeemed  from  sleepe  or  anie  will  therof ,  even  from 
the  tyme  ye  left  me  yesternight  whill  this  daye  at  foure  a  clocke, 
idlenes  and  silence  of  the  night  sturred  up  my  Muse  to  travell 
and  speache;  and  as  our  mindes  remembers  best  on  the  last 
object  before  going  to  sleepe,  so  my  muse  hade  reddiest  in  mem- 
orie  your  translation  of  my  verses  that  ye  redd  yesternight,  and 

1  Fols.  67  &-68.  l  Fol.  68>. 


61 

therfor  she  begood  to  worke  thereupon,  as  well  to  spurre  you  to 
end  out  that  ye  have  begunne,  as  to  encourage  you  to  translate 
likewise  hereafter  such  short  poems  of  mine,  as  shall  be  thought 
best  written.  Upon  these  conditions  then,  I  send  you  this 
sonnet.  Vide  supra  pag.  35  [p.  31,  XXXIII]. 

VI 

"His  Maties  letter  to  Mr  du  Plessis."  1  In  French.  Escript 
a  Theobalds,  Octobre,  1611.  The  King  thanks  du  Plessis  for 
the  present  of  a  book  dedicated  to  him,  but  feels  that  there  is 
no  scriptural  warrant  and  that  the  times  are  not  ripe  for  ex- 
changing the  pen  for  the  sword  in  the  war  against  Antichrist. 

VII 

"His  Matle'  letter  to  Mr  du  Moulin."  2  In  French.  Escript 
a  Royston,  16  Dec.,  1611.  The  King  thanks  du  Moulin  for 
honorable  mention  in  his  book  and  for  his  defense  of  the  doctrines 
in  the  King's  writings.  He  censures,  however,  his  interpreta- 
tion of  passages  from  Cyprian,  Chrysostom,  and  other  author- 
ities, and  indicates  seven  points  for  alteration  in  his  second  book, 
U Accomplissement  des  Prophecies. 

VIII 

Copy  of  a  letter  from  Doctor  (Jacopo  Antonio)  Marta  to 
King  James.3  In  Italian.  Padua,  Feb.  19,  1612. 

DC 

Copy  of  a  letter  written  by  Philip  III  of  Spain  to  the 
"  Presidentes  de  todos  los  Consejos."  4  In  Spanish.  Oct.  23, 
1612.  , 

X 

Copy  of  the  decree  pacing  the  Controversies  Anglicana  de  Potes- 
tate  Regis  et  Pontificis,  by  Martin  Becanus,  on  the  Index  Ex- 
purgatorius.5  In  Latin.  Jan.  3,  1613. 

XI 

Arguments  respecting  the  validity  of  the  papacy  of  Clement 
VIII.6  In  English. 


1  Fols.  69-70.  *  Fols.  71-76  6.  8  Fol.  77. 

4  Fol.  77  b.  •  Fols.  78-78  b.  •  Fols.  79-81  b. 


APPENDIX     II 


ADDITIONAL  POEMS 


Antithesis.     [Following    the    song,    "Since   Thought   is 
free."] 2 

Since  thought  is  thrall  to  thy  ill  will, 
O  troubled  heart,  great  is  thy  pain  ! 
Thought  unreveeled  may  doe  thee  ill, 
But  words  weill  past  come  weill  again, 
5  Be  never  carefull  to  invent 

To  gett  thy  owne,  but  God's  intent. 
:  ?•  •; 

Play  not  thy  self  with  thy  conceate, 
For  God  knoweth  all  that  thou  doth  meane. 
Hope  without  faith  will  bring  thee  late 
10  To  thy  entent  for  to  atteane. 

And  when  it  breakes  furth  in  effect 

Thy  wylie  witt  God  will  correct. 

Since  of  fool-haste  came  never  good  speed, 
Pray  God  to  give  thee  grace  to  know, 
15  That  vertue  onlie  forced  by  need, 

Serveth  little  thanks  to  the  by  law. 
On  God's  will,  then,  see  thou  attend, 
If  thou  would  vanquishe  hi  the  end. 

1  Not  in  the  Museum  MS.,  and  not  included  in  TheEssayes  of  a  Prentise 
or  His  Maiesties  Poeticall  Exercises.    All  save  The  Lorde  Prayer  (IX)  have 
appeared  in  print. 

2  Printed  in  Calderwood's  History  of  the  Kirk  of  Scotland,  Wodrow  Soc., 
1843,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  784,  from  a  copy  in  Calderwood's  MS. 

62 


63 

II 

His   Majesties   owne    Sonnet.     [On   the   defeat  of    the 
Spanish  Armada .] l 

The  nations  banded  gainst  the  Lord  of  might 
Prepar'd  a  force,  and  set  them  to  the  way : 
Mars  drest  himself  in  such  an  awfull  plight, 
The  like  whereof  was  never  scene  they  say : 
They  forward  came  hi  monstrous  array,  J 

Both  Sea  and  land  beset  us  every  where : 
Bragges  threatned  us  a  ruinous  decay, 
What  came  of  that  ?  the  issue  did  declare. 
The  windes  began  to  tosse  them  here  and  there, 
The  Seas  begun  in  foming  waves  to  swell : 
The  number  that  escap'd,  it  fell  them  faire : 
The  rest  were  swallowed  up  hi  gulfes  of  hell : 

But  how  were  all  these  things  miraculous  done  ? 

God  laught  at  them  out  of  his  heavenly  throne. 

m 

[Epitaph  on  Chancellor  Maitland]  2 

Thv  passenger  who  spyst  with  gazeing  eyes 
This  sad  trophie 3  of  death's  triumphing  dart, 
Consider,  when  this  ovtward  tomb  thv  sees, 
How  rair  a  man  leaves  here  his  earthly  pairt, 

1  Printed,  with  Maitland's  Latin  translation,  at  the  end  of  Ane  Medita- 
tioun  upon  i  Chronicles  xv.  25-29,  Edinburgh,  1589 ;  in  the  second  edition  of 
this  treatise,  London,  1603;  in  the  1616  Folio,  p.  89.    The  text  follows  the 
1616  Folio. 

2  Inscribed  on  a  marble  tablet  on  the  western  wall  of  the  ruined  parish 
church  of  Haddington,  Scotland,  above  the  Lauderdale  vault.     Printed  in  the 
1655  and  later  editions  of  Spottiswoode's  History  of  the  Church  of  Scotland 
(ed.  1841,  Vol.  II,  p.  464).    The  text  follows  an  exact  copy  of  the  original 
epitaph  kindly  supplied  (after  comparison  with  the  printed  version)  by  the 
Rev.  W.  Proudfoot,  of  Haddington.     Variants  in  Spottiswoode  are  hi  part 
accounted  for  by  the  illegibility  of  his  MS. 

3  Spot.,  Trophy  sad. 


64 

His  wisdome,  and  his  vprightness  of  heart, 
His  piety,  his  practice  in  ovr  state, 
His  pregnant  wit  well  versed  in  every  airt,1 
As  eqvally  not  all  were  in  debate.2 
Then  jvstly  hath  his  death  brovght  forth  of  late 
A  heavy  grief  to  prince  and  svbjects  all 
Who  virtve  love,  and  vice  to  trvly  hate, 
Tho'  viciovs  men  be  joyfvl 3  at  his  fall ; 
Bvt 4  for  himself,  most  happie,  doth  he  die, 
Tho'  for  his  prince  it  most  unhappie  be. 


\      IV 

The  Dedication  of  the  Booke 5 
Sonet 

Lo  heere  (my  Sonne)  a  mirour  vive  and  faire, 
Which  sheweth  the  shaddow  of  a  worthy  King. 
Lo  heere  a  Booke,  a  patterne  doth  you  bring 
Which  ye  should  preasse  to  follow  mair  and  maire. 

;         This  trustie  friend,  the  trueth  will  never  spaire, 
But  give  a  good  advice  unto  you  heare : 
How  it  should  be  your  chiefe  and  princely  care, 
To  follow  vertue,  vice  for  to  forbeare. 
And  in  this  Booke  your  lesson  will  ye  leare, 

(         For  guiding  of  your  people  great  and  small. 
Then  (as  ye  ought)  give  an  attentive  eare, 
And  panse  how  ye  these  preceptes  practise  shall. 
Your  father  bids  you  studie  here  and  reede, 
How  to  become  a  perfite  King  indeede. 

1  Spot.,  His  quick  engine  so  versed  in  every  art. 
1  Spot.,  As  equals  all  were  ever  in  debate. 
1  Spot.,  Rejoices. 

4  Spot.,  So. 

5  Printed  in  the  first  edition,  limited  to  seven  copies,  of  the  /Jcun 
Aw/joy,  Edinburgh,  1599;  not  included  in  later  editions.     The  text  follows 
the  reprint  of  the  first  edition,  Roxburghe  Club,  Vol.  108. 


65 


The  Argument ' 
[Sonnet  to  Prince  Henry  at  the  opening  of  the 

Afti/901/.] 

God  gives  not  Kings  the  stile  of  Gods  in  vaine, 
For  on  his  Throne  his  Scepter  doe  they  swey : 
And  as  their  subjects  ought  them  to  obey, 
So  Kings  should  feare  and  serve  their  God  againe : 
If  then  ye  would  enjoy  a  happie  raigne, 
Observe  the  Statutes  of  your  heavenly  King, 
And  from  his  Law,  make  all  your  Lawes  to  spring : 
Since  his  Lieutenant  here  ye  should  remaine, 
Reward  the  just,  be  stedfast,  true  and  plaine, 
Represse  the  proud,  maintayning  aye  the  right, 
Walk  alwayes  so,  as  ever  in  his  sight, 
Who  guardes  the  godly,  plaguing  the  prophane : 
And  so  ye  shall  in  Princely  vertues  shine, 
Resembling  right  your  mightie  King  Divine. 


VI 

Two  sets  of  verses  made  by  the  Kinge  when  he  was  at 
Burley  House,  intertayned  by  the  Marquis  of  Buckingham.2 

The  heavens  that  wept  perpetually  before, 
Since  we  came  hither,  shewe  theyr  smyling  cheere ; 
This  goodly  howse  it  smiles  and  all  this  store 
Of  huge  provisions  smyles  upon  us  here. 
The  buckes  and  stagges  in  full  they  seeme  to  smyle,      > 
God  send  a  smiling  boy  within  a  while. 

1  Printed  in  the  first  edition  of  the  (3a<rL\tKov  Aoipov,  Edinburgh,  1599 ;  in 
later  editions ;  in  the  1616  Folio,  p.  137 ;  frequently  in  histories  and  poetical 
collections.  The  text  follows  the  1616  Folio. 

*  Printed  from  the  MSS.  of  Miss  Conway-Griffith,  Hist.  MSS.  Com.  Re- 
Ports,  V,  p.  409. 


66 
VII 

A  Vow  or  Wishe  for  the  felicitye  and  fertility  of  the  owners 
of  this  howse. 

If  ever  in  the  Aprill  of  my  dayes 
I  sat  upon  Parnassus  forked  hill, 
And  there  inflam'd  with  sacred  fiery  still 
And  there  proclaim'd  our  great  Apollo's  prayse, 
Graunt  glistering  Phoebus  with  thy  golden  rayes 
My  earnest  suite,  which  to  present  thee  here 
Behold  my  *  *  of  this  blessed  couple  dere, 
Whose  vertues  pure  no  tongue  can  duly  blaze. 
Thou  by  whose  heate  the  trees  in  fruit  abound, 
Blesse  them  with  fruite  delitious,  sweete  and  faire 
That  may  succeede  them  in  theyr  vertues  rare ; 
Firm  plant  theym  in  theyr  naytive  soyle  and  grounde. 
Thou  Jove,  that  art  the  only  god  indeede, 
My  prayer  heare :  sweete  Jesus  intercede. 


VIII 

[A  Prayer,  written  on  a  blank  page  of  a  volume  of  Mon- 
taigne.] * 

•^ 
Here  lyith  I  nakit,  to  the  anatomic 

Of  my  faill  hairt,  O  humane  deyitie 
O  tryst  the  almychtie,  loyk  the  almychte  woird 
0  put  one  me  thy  rob,  as  quhylum  lord 
Thou  putist  one  myne,  me  in  thy  bloid  beleiue 
And  in  my  souill,  thy  secreit  law  Ingrave. 


1  Printed  in  Notes  and  Queries,  Ser.  VI,  Vol.  X,  p.  186,  as  an  extract  from  the 
Leeds  Mercury,  Sept.  6,  1884.  The  copy  of  Montaigne  was  in  the  library  of 
J.  P.  Collier,  and  the  poem  was  printed  at  the  time  when  his  books  were 
sold.  The  erratic  spelling  —  e.g.,  loyk  for  look,  woird  for  word,  belieue  for 
belave  =  wash  —  may  be  due  to  mistakes  of  the  transcriber  or  the  printer ;  it 
does  not  represent  the  King's  usual  orthography. 


67 

IX 

The  Lorde  Prayer l 

Oure  michtie  father  that  in  heavin  remanie 
Thy  noble  name  be  sanctified  alwayis 
Thy  kingdome  come.     In  earth  thy  will  and  ranie 
Even  as  in  heavins  mot  be  obayed  with  prayse. 
This  day  give  us,  our  daylie  bred  and  meat 
Forgive  us  also  our  trespassis  ay, 
As  we  forgive  the  other  small  or  great 
Lord,  in  tentation  lead  us  not  we  pray, 
But  us  from  evill  delyver  evermore : 
For  thyne  is  kingdome  we  do  all  record  : 

Almichtie  power  and  everlasting  glore 
For  now  and  ay.     So  mot  it  be  6  Lord. 

1  From  the  MS.  Paraphrase  of  the  Psalms,  British  Museum,  Old  Royal 
MSS.  1 8  B  XVI.  Above  the  prayer  is  the  following  note :  "Lat  this  prayer 
be  written  with  the  psalmes  other  before  or  ef tir. "  The  paraphrase  printed  in 
Notes  and  Queries,  Ser.  I,  Vol.  V,p.  195,  and  attributed  to  James,  is  entirely 
different  and  contains  no  internal  evidence  of  his  authorship. 


NOTES 

AMATORL* 

THE  titles  and  contents  of  most  of  the  pieces  in  the  Ama- 
toria,  as  well  as  His  Maites  Jurnei  among  the  Fragmenta, 
indicate  that  they  were  written  at  the  time  of  the  King's 
marriage,  an  account  of  which  is  thus  essential  to  an  under- 
standing of  the  poems.  Though  there  were  tentative  pro- 
posals several  years  earlier  (Bowes'  Correspondence,  Surtees 
Soc.,  October  7,  1580),  negotiations  for  the  marriage  were 
first  seriously  undertaken  hi  the  summer  of  1585,  upon  the 
arrival  of  envoys  to  suggest  an  alliance  with  one  of  the  daugh- 
ters of  Frederick  II  of  Denmark.  The  ambassadors  were 
given  encouragement,  and  in  the  autumn  Peter  Young,  the 
King's  tutor  and  master  almoner,  was  sent  to  Denmark  as 
the  King's  representative.  Young  was  again  in  Denmark 
in  the  summers  of  1586  and  1587  (Thorpe,  Cal.  S.  P.  Sco., 
July  30, 1586 ;  Aug.  13, 1587),  but  the  negotiations  dragged  on 
till  the  spring  of  1 589.  The  reasons  for  this  delay  were  partly 
no  doubt  the  King's  youth  and  the  possibility  of  a  marriage 
with  the  sister  of  Henry  of  Navarre,  but  chiefly  Queen  Eliza- 
beth's opposition  to  this  match  or  any  other  the  King  might 
make.  As  early  as  1585  her  envoy  Wotton  had  almost  pre- 
vented the  reception  of  the  Danish  ambassadors.  Later 
Elizabeth  was  said  to  favor  the  French  princess,  who  was 
reported  "  olde  and  croked. "  (Papers  of  the  Master  of  Gray, 
Bann.  Club,  p.  161.)  In  reality,  as  Melville  remarks,  her 
aim  "was  to  stay  him  fra  any  mariage,  as  sche  and  hir  con- 
sail  had  ever  done  and  delt,  baith  with  his  mother  and  him 
self  "  (Memoirs,  Bann.  Club,  p.  368).  When  the  King 
finally  reached  his  decision,  "efter  fyften  dayes  advysement 
and  devot  prayer"  (Ibid.,  p.  366),  it  was  in  opposition  not 
only  to  Elizabeth,  but  to  his  chancellor,  Maitland,  who  was 
under  English  influence. 

69 


70 

On  June  18,  1589,  George  Keith,  the  Earl  Marshal,  who 
was  chosen  as  the  King's  deputy,  set  sail  with  a  large  com- 
pany to  act  in  the  preliminary  ceremony  and  bring  the 
bride  to  Scotland,  and  on  August  20  the  marriage  was  per- 
formed. In  the  meantime,  the  King,  who  was  at  first  re- 
ported a  cool  lover,  had  worked  himself  into  a  fever  of  im- 
patient excitement.  Messages  flew  back  and  forth  across 
the  North  Sea,  entreaties  from  James  that  the  Queen  and  her 
company  "come  away  in  Scotland."  (Papers  relative  to  the 
Marriage  of  King  J antes  t  the  Sixth,  Bann.  Club,  p.  18.) 
James  was  alone  at  Craigmillar  Castle,  where  he  "culd  not 
sleip  nor  rest"  (Melville's  Memoirs,  p.  370),  "impatient 
and  sorrowful"  at  the  delay.  It  is  interesting  to  know  that 
the  poems  were  thus  the  fruit  of  real  passion,  even  though  it 
was  for  an  'unknown  mistress.' 

At  last,  on  September  15,  word  reached  Scotland  that  a 
storm  had  scattered  the  Scottish  fleet  and  forced  the  Queen 
to  take  refuge  at  Opslo  (now  Christiania),  on  the  coast  of 
Norway.  After  another  month  of  waiting,  the  King  found 
further  delay  both  dangerous  and  unbearable,  and  on  the 
night  of  October  22  stole  secretly  down  to  the  quays  of 
Leith  and  set  sail  in  quest  of  his  bride.  (Cf .  Peter  Young's 
Ephemeride,  in  Vita  Quorundam  .  .  .  Virorum,  Th.  Smith, 
London,  1707.)  The  explanation  of  his  romantic  venture 
appeared  the  next  day  in  a  letter  to  the  Council  (Papers 
relative  to  the  Marriage,  p.  12  ff.),  written  with  a  colloquial 
freedom  rare  in  royal  proclamations.  He  had  resolved  on 
the  voyage  "upon  the  instant,  yea  very  moment"  the  news 
reached  him,  but  had  kept  his  decision  from  the  Chancellor 
lest  the  latter  be  accused  of  "leiding  me  by  the  nose."  He 
wished  to  prove  himself  no  "barren  stock,"  nor  "irresolute 
asse  quha  can  do  nathing  of  himselff."  The  government 
during  his  absence  was  to  be  in  the  hands  of  the  Duke  of 
Lennox,  with  the  Earl  of  Bothwell  second  in  power. 

After  a  stormy  passage,  the  King  reached  Norway  Octo- 
ber 28,  and  two  weeks  more  of  rough  travel  by  sea  and  land 
brought  him  to  the  Queen.  The  final  ceremony  took  place 
at  Opslo,  November  23.  It  was  considered  too  late  in  the 


71 

season  to  return  to  Scotland.  Instead  the  bridal  party 
traversed  some  three  hundred  miles  of  Norwegian  and  Swed- 
ish forests,  "throw  manie  woods  and  wildernes  in  confermed 
frost  and  snaw"  (Melville's  Diary,  Bann.  Club,  p.  186), 
crossed  the  Sund  to  Elsinore,  and  'spent  the  remainder  of 
the  whiter  at  Kronberg  and  Copenhagen.  "Drinking  and 
driving  ou'r  "  (Letter  James  to  Lord  Spynie,  Letters  to  James 
VI,  Bann.  Club,  p.  xix)  was  varied  by  visits  to  Hemingsen, 
the  theologian,  and  Brahe,  the  astronomer.  On  May  i, 
James  and  his  sixteen-year-old  Queen  landed  at  Leith  and 
were  escorted  in  triumph  to  Holyrood. 

As  has  been  said,  most  of  the  poems  in  the  Amatoria  were 
written  during  this  exciting  period,  either  before  or  soon 
after  the  King's  departure  for  Denmark.  The  exact  dates 
of  their  composition,  though  indicated  so  far  as  possible  hi 
the  notes  following,  are  not  so  significant  as  the  evidence  of 
their  sincerity  and  of  their  connection  with  an  actual  episode 
in  the  King's  life. 

I 

In  this  instance  the  date  is  fixed  by  the  fact  that  the  news 
of  the  storm  reached  Scotland,  September  15,  1589.  The 
English  poet  Henry  Constable,  who  was  in  Scotland  at  the 
time  (cf.  Introd.,  p.  xxxvi),  wrote  a  sonnet  in  answer,  "To 
the  King  of  Scots,  upon  occasion  of  a  Sonnet  the  King  wiote 
in  complaint  of  a  contrarie  [wind]  which  hindred  the  arrival 
of  the  Queene  out  of  Denmark."  (Diana:  The  Sonnets  and 
Other  Poems  of  Henry  Constable,  ed.  Hazlitt,  London,  1859.) 
The  first  four  lines  are  as  follows :  — 

"If  I  durst  sigh  still  as  I  had  begun, 
Or  durst  shed  teares  in  such  abundant  store, 
You  should  have  need  to  blame  the  sea  no  more, 
Nor  call  upon  the  wind  as  you  have  done." 

II. 

4.  Cataplasme.  A  plaster  or  poultice.  Cf.  Montgomerie, 
Misc.  Poems,  VI,  1.  n  :  — 

"No  cataplasm  can  weill  impesh  that  pest." 


72 

6.  Frie.    Here  merely  in  the  sense  of  burn,  with  none  of 
its  modern  connotation.     Cf.  Montgomerie,  Misc.  Poems, 
XLVII,  1.  10 :  — 

"Quhilk  freats  and  fryis  in  furious  flammis  of  fy[re.]" 

7.  Sicker.     Here  as  an  adverb,  —  firmly,  securely. 

8.  Hoalit.     Pierced.    A   return   to   the   King's   original 
phrasing,  as  a  means  of  preserving  meter  and  alliteration. 

12.  Pann.     Probably  a  shortened  form  of  panic. 

HI 

4.  Mease.    Allay,  moderate. 

IV 

The  sonnet,  though  differently  developed,  resembles  that 
of  Ronsard  (CEuvres,  ed.  Marty-Laveaux,  Vol.  I,  p.  17)  be- 
ginning as  follows :  — 

"Quand  en  naissant  la  Dame  que  j 'adore 
De  ses  beautez  vint  embellir  les  cieux, 
Le  fils  de  Rhee  appella  tous  les  Dieux, 
Pour  faire  d'elle  encore  une  Pandore." 

9.  Sprung  of  Ferguse  race.    According  to  the  legendary 
genealogies  of  Boece  and  Buchanan,  Fergus  was  the  first 
King  of  Scotland. 

V 

6.  Daylie  fascherie  of  my  own  affaires.  Even  during 
James's  stay  hi  Denmark  he  was  troubled  by  petty  broils 
and  rivalry  among  his  followers.  "Bot  the  company  that 
wer  with  his  Majestie,"  writes  Sir  James  Melville  (Memoirs, 
pp.  372-373),  "held  him  in  gret  fascherie  [perplexity,  annoy- 
ance], to  agre  ther  continuall  stryf,  pryd  and  partialites." 
The  Earl  Marshal  and  Chancellor  Maitland  quarreled  for 
precedence;  George  Hume  'shot  out'  William  Keith  from 
his  office  as  master  of  the  wardrobe ;  and  "at  lenth  the  hail 
wair  devydit  into  twa  factions  —  the  ane  for  the  Erie  Mar- 


73 

chall,  and  thother  for  the  chanceler,  wha  was  the  starker, 
because  the  King  tok  his  part." 


VII 

One  should  make  no  inference  from  the  poem  regarding 
the  author's  interest  in  the  Scottish  landscape.  It  is  a  line- 
for-line  translation  of  a  sonnet  by  Melin  de  Saint-Gelais 
((Euvres,  ed.  1873,  Vol.  I,  p.  78),  usually  considered  the 
earliest  in  the  French  language,  and  derived  in  turn  from 
the  Italian  of  Jacopo  Sannazaro.  Wyatt's  sonnet  on  the 
same  theme  (Poems,  ed.  1858,  p.  12)  is  taken  directly  from 
the  Italian.  The  closeness  of  James's  version  to  the  origi- 
nal may  be  seen  by  comparison  with  the  sonnet  of  Saint- 
Gelais,  which  follows :  — 

"Voyant  ces  monts  de  veue  ainsi  lointaine, 
Je  les  compare  a  mon  long  desplaisir : 
Haute  est  leur  chef,  et  haut  est  mon  desir, 
Leur  pied  est  ferme,  et  ma  foi  est  certaine. 

D'eux  maint  ruisseau  coule,  et  mainte  fontaine : 
De  mes  deux  yeux  sortent  pleurs  a  loisir ; 
De  forts  soupirs  ne  me  puis  dessaisir, 
Et  de  grands  vents  leur  cime  est  toute  plaine, 

Mille  troupeaux  s'y  promenent  et  paissent, 
Autant  d'Amours  se  couvent  et  renaissent 
Dedans  mon  cceur,  qui  seul  est  leur  pasture. 

Us  sont  sans  fruict,  mon  bien  n'est  qu'aparence, 
Et  d'eux  a  moy  n'a  qu'une  difference, 
Qu'en  eux  la  neige,  en  moy  la  flamme  dure." 

7.  Butt.    Without. 

VIII 

2.  Of  brethren  four  which  did  this  worlde  compone.  The 
familiar  medieval  theory  of  the  four  elements  and  the  four 
corresponding  humors,  with  their  relation  to  the  'com- 
plexions' of  the  human  body,  the  ages  of  man,  the  seasons  of 
the  year,  etc.,  was  one  of  the  King's  favorite  topics.  It  is 


74 

referred  to  again  in  A  Dreme  on  his  Mistris,  11.  60-78,  and  is 
the  main  theme  of  the  translation  from  Du  Bartas  (LVI). 
See  note  on  the  last-mentioned  poem,  1.  25. 


IX 

7.  Since  Lezardlike  I  feede  upon  her  face.  Cf.  Mont- 
gomerie,  sonnet  XXVI  [To  the  King] :  — 

"I  am  a  lizard,  fainest  of  his  face, 
And  not  a  snaik,  with  poyson  him  to  byte." 

Laing,  "in  a  note  on  the  passage  in  Montgomerie,  quotes 
Chester's  Love's  Martyr  (Grosart,  Occ.  Iss.,  Vol.  VII,  p. 
114):  — 

"The  Lizard  is  a  kind  of  loving  creature, 

From  dangerous  beasts  poore  Man  he  doth  defend : 
For  being  sleepy  he  all  sence  forsaketh ; 
The  lizard  bites  him  till  the  man  awaketh." 

9.  Marigolde.    Lat.,  solsequium.     Cf.  note,  XVI,  60. 

13-14.  The  syntactical  peculiarity  of  the  closing  couplet 
—  here  a  series  of  nouns  recalling  the  figures  used  above, 
followed  by  a  series  of  corresponding  verbs  —  is  a  frequent 
device  in  English  and  Continental  sonnets.  In  the  second 
sonnet  on  Du  Bartas  (XXVII),  where  it  occurs  again,  it  is 
taken  directly  from  the  French  original.  Montgomerie  uses 
it  in  sonnets  I,  IX,  XXXIX  (a  translation  from  Ronsard), 
and  LVIII,  the  last  ending  with  the  fantastic  couplet :  — 

"Revenge,  revert,  revive,  revest,  reveall, 
My  hurt,  my  hairt,  my  hope,  my  hap,  my  heall." 

Brotanek,  in  his  study  of  Montgomerie  (Wiener  Beitrage, 
Vol.  Ill,  p.  76),  gives  other  instances  of  the  device,  but 
confuses  it  with  "underwriting,"  or  the  "reporting  sonnet," 
where  the  closing  words  of  each  line  are  repeated  in  the  line 
following. 


75 

XI 

5.  Sponke.     Spark. 

7.  With.    This  is,  I  think,  not  the  preposition,  but  the 
verb  withe,  in  the  sense  of  twist  or  curl. 

7.  Wandling.    Nimbly.    (Cf.  wannle^  agile,  vigorous. — 
Jamieson's  Scottish  Dictionary.}     It  is  possible,  however, 
that  the  word  is  a  formation  from  wand  =  twig  or  branch, 
in  which  case  it  would  mean  forking  or  branching. 

8.  Kithe.     Show,  make  known. 

1-8.  The  comparison,  not  a  common  one  in  Renaissance 
poetry,  is  employed  in  sonnet  VI  of  Spenser's  Amoretti:  — 

"The  durefull  Oake,  whose  sap  is  not  yet  dride, 
Is  long  ere  it  conceive  the  kindling  fyre ; 
But  when  it  once  doth  burne,  it  doth  divide 
Great  heat,  and  make  his  flames  to  heaven  aspire. 
So  hard  it  is,"  etc. 

Though  the  King's  sonnets  and  Spenser's  follow  the  same 
unusual  rhyme-scheme,  this  is  the  only  suggestion  of  imi- 
tation I  have  found  in  their  writings. 

XII 

6.  That  in  inconstance  thou  art  constant  still.    This  phrase 
and  the  preceding  comparisons  are  recalled  in  a  letter  from 
Sir  George  Carey  to  Sir  Robert  Cecil,  August  2,  1593  (Cat. 
Hatfield  MSS.,  Pt.  IV.  p.  346) :  "Our  Scottish  news  sheweth 
Scotland   not   inconstant   in   inconstancy,    removing   the 
state  thereof  as  the  heavens  that  ever  more  do  change,  nor 
the  King  at  this  instant  less  subject  to  the  loss  of  his  liberty 
than  when  he  was  in  ten  years  taken  nine  times  by  contrary 
factions,  each  time  in  danger  of  his  life.  .  .  ."     Cecil  soon 
after  repeated  the  words  in  a  letter  to  his  Scottish  agent 
Colville,  as  shown  by  the  latter's  reply  (Letters  of  Colville, 
Bann.   Club,  p.    102,  August   21,   1593) :    "That  matter 
[Colville's  plans]  being  partlie  committed  to  Mr.  Lok,  and 
be\eson  of  the  constant  inconstancy  of  our  estate,  as  your 
honour  rychtlie  termes  it,  to  be  with  good  advys  sett  down." 


76 

Carey  had  no  doubt  seen  the  poem  when  he  was  in  Scot- 
land as  an  envoy  in  May,  1589  (Letter  Earl  of  Derby  to  Earl 
of  Shrewsbury,  May  21,  Nichols,  Progresses  of  Elizabeth, 
Vol.  Ill,  p.  27). 

XIII 

The  stanza  of  the  poem  is  the  so-called  French  octave, 
employed  frequently  by  Dunbar,  Montgomerie  (Misc. 
Poems,  I,  VII,  X,  XXVII,  XXXII,  XXXIII,  etc.),  and 
other  Scottish  poets.  Cf.  note  in  Burns 's  Poems,  ed.  Hen- 
ley and  Henderson,  Vol.  I,  p.  371 .  In  the  Reulis  and  cautelis, 
Ch.  VIII,  James  speaks  of  it  as  Ballat  Royal,  a  name  prob- 
ably suggested  by  its  use  in  the  French  ballade.  For  its 
possible  relation  to  the  Spenserian  sonnet  and  stanza,  cf. 
Introd.,  p.  li. 

8.  Aimeled.  Here,  as  in  LVTI,  39,  and  often  in  Dunbar, 
it  means  merely  colored  or  decorated.  Cf.  Dunbar,  The 
Goldin  Terge,  1.  13  :  — 

"Ennammalit  wes  the  feild  with  all  cullouris." 
10.  Dolent.     "Mournful,  dismal. 

XIV 

This  is  one  of  the  eight  poems  first  printed  in  Lusus 
Regius.  In  a  note  on  the  poem  Rait  remarks,  with  insuffi- 
cient warrant,  that  the  language  indicates  a  period  following 
the  King's  accession  to  the  English  throne.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  the  piece  is  in  phrasing  and  contents  largely  a  patch- 
work from  the  love  poems  of  Montgomerie. 

The  word  dier,  in  the  title,  is  not  easily  explained,  save  as 
a  careless  spelling  or  contraction  of  dirige,  dirgy,  dirge 
(Lat.,  dirige  —  direct,  the  first  word  of  a  penitential  psalm 
in  the  church  Service),  or  as  a  variant  suggested  by  a  wrong 
notion  of  the  derivation.  One  of  the  earliest  instances  of 
its  use  in  the  title  of  a  poem  is  The  Dregy  of  Dunbar  maid  to 
King  James  the  Fyift  being  in  Striuilling  (Poems,  ed.  Baildon, 
1907,  p.  6).  The  MS.,  however,  indicates  that  the  title  of 
the  present  poem  was  added  on  the  formation  of  the  collec- 


77 

tion,  at  a  time  when  the  name  and  the  genre  had  become 
popular. 

8.  Raging  Roland.  Among  the  unpublished  poems  of  J. 
Stewart  of  Baldyness  is  A ne  Abbregement  of  Roland  Furious 
translatit  out  of  Aroist  [Ariosto],  dedicated  to  the  King.  (MS. 
in  the  Advocates'  Library.) 

18.  By  the  halse.  Lit.,  by  the  neck ;  in  mingled  suspense 
and  expectation. 

40.  Dwine.    Decline,  pine  away. 

49.  All  wemen  are  in  overs.  Overs,  the  plural  of  the  prep- 
osition used  as  a  noun,  is  the  word  required  by  the  meter, 
and  might  be  taken  to  mean  excesses  or  extremes.  Kynde, 
deleted  hi  the  Bodl.  MS.,  would  make  the  line  a  septenarius, 
and  justify  the  explanation  of  overs  as  overse  or  obverse.  In 
either  case  the  meaning  would  be  much  the  same. 

XVI 

For  the  lady  addressed  and  the  date  of  composition,  cf. 
note  on  the  poem  following.  The  description  of  violent 
changes  of  weather  at  sea  was  perhaps  suggested  by  similar 
passages  in  the  Histoire  de  Jonas  of  Du  Bartas;  but  in 
graphic  detail  the  French  poet  is  much  more  successfully  imi- 
tated in  the  well-known  The  Calm  and  The  Storm  of  John 
Donne.  In  the  adoption  of  rhyme  royal  for  his  complaint 
James  follows  his  own  counsel  given  in  the  Reulis  and  cau- 
telis,  where  he  speaks  of  " Troilus  verse"  as  suited  for  "  tragi- 
call  materis,  complaintis,  or  testamentis." 

21.  Rashing  on  the  ray.    Flapping  against  the  sail-yards. 
Ray  (O.N.,  rd).     Cf.   Knox's  History,  Works,   ed.   Laing, 
1864,  Vol.  I,  p.  109:    "Our  Schottish  schippis  war  stayed, 
the  sayles  tackin  from  the  rayes." 

28.  Doe  threaten  mixing  heavens  with  sea  and  earde.  Cf. 
Du  Bartas,  Histoire  de  Jonas,  11.  40-44  :  — 

" .     .     .  1'onde  emmoncelee 
Lui  jette  en  contr'echange  une  pluye  salee. 
On  diroit  que  le  Ciel  tombe  dedans  la  mer ; 
Que  la  mer  monte  au  Ciel." 


78 

Cf.  also  Burns's  Brigs  of  Ayr,  11.  125-126  :  — 

"Then  doun  yell  hurl  (deil  nor  ye  never  rise  !), 
And  dash  the  gumlie  jaups  up  to  the  pouring  skies." 

51.  A  chatton  toome.    An  empty  setting.     "The  broadest 
part  of  a  ring,  wherein  the  stone  is  set."  —  COTGRAVE.  James 
may  have  remembered  the  phrase  from  the  inventories  of 
his  Royal  Wardrobe  and   Jewel  House  (ed.  T.  Thomson, 
Edin.,  1814,  pp.  267-269),  where  in  the  year  1578  appear  the 
items :  "A  chatton  without  ane  emerald,"  "A  chaton  with- 
out a  stane."     Rings  of  this  description  were  probably  not 
rare  in  Scotland  during  the  reigns  of  James  and  Mary. 

52.  Volier.    A  volary  or  bird-cage. 

60.  Solsequium.    Lat.  for    marigold  or    sunflower.     Cf. 
Montgomerie,  Misc.  Poems,  XV,  11.  1-4 :  — 

"Lyk  as  the  dum 
Solsequium, 
With  cair  ouercum, 
And  sorou,  when  the  sun  goes  out  of  sight." 

61.  Luckned.     Closed.     From  lucken  =  to  lock.     There  is 
a  soecies  of  crowfoot  known  in  Scotland  as  the  lucken  gowan. 

XVII 

"My  Ladie  Glammes,"  to  whom  the  poem  is  addressed, 
was  Anne,  a  daughter  of  Sir  John  Murray,  later  first  Earl  of 
Tullibardine,  a  companion  of  the  King's  childhood  and 
later  master  of  his  household.  That  his  daughter  was  the 
'  mistris '  of  the  poem  is  established  by  two  letters  from  Sir 
John  Carey  to  Burleigh  (Cal.  of  Border  Papers,  Vol.  I,  pp. 
31,  34),  referring  to  her  marriage  to  Patrick  Lyon,  Lord 
Glamis,  afterwards  first  Earl  of  Kinghorn.  "The  master  of 
Glaymes,"  writes  Carey,  May  10,  1595,  "had  promised  his 
nephew  the  Lord  in  marydge  to  Sesfordes  sister,  and  now  by 
the  Earle  Marres  crossing  of  it,  he  is  to  marrye  with  fayre 
Mistris  Anne  Murrey,  the  Kinges  mistris."  A  second  letter, 
June  3,  states  that  the  King  and  Queen  have  gone  to  Stirling, 
and  that  "shortly  the  great  marriage  shall  be  solemnized  at 


79 

Lythquo  between  young  Lord  Glaymes  and  the  Kinges 
mistress."  Lady  Glamis  survived  her  husband  twelve 
years  and  died  in  Edinburgh,  February  27,  1618. 

While  Carey's  letters  leave  no  doubt  as  to  the  Lady's 
identity,  attention  may  be  called  to  a  reference  to  a  similar 
affair  of  the  King's  in  a  letter  of  Dr.  Toby  Matthew,  Bishop 
of  Durham,  giving  an  account  of  BothwelPs  offers  to  Eliza- 
beth just  after  the  surprise  of  James  in  Holyrood  (cf.  note, 
XXVII) :  "Nowe  as  your  lordship  is  lik  to  heare  of  all  these, 
and  manie  other  particulers  more  at  large,  as  the  kinges  af- 
fection to  the  Ladie  Murton's  daughter,  and  a  strange  letter 
writt  to  some  suche  effecte,  with  some  good  assurance  taken 
to  bring  a  greater  estate  there  into  their  association  and  into 
her  Majesties  devotion.  ..."  (Cal.  of  Border  Papers, 
August  2,  1593.)  In  another  letter,  August  ,.15,  Matthew 
adds  that  "the  kinges  love  that  was  spoken  of,  is  as  his 
lordeship  saide,  the  Ladie  Murtons  fayre  daughter,  wherein 
is  conteyned  a  mysterie  not  cleerly  to  me  revealed."  Oddly 
enough,  Euphemia,  one  of  the  fifth  Earl  of  Morton's  daugh- 
ters, became  in  1586  the  second  wife  of  Sir  Thomas  Lyon  of 
Baldukie,  Master  of  Glamis,  and  might  thus  have  been  re- 
ferred to  as  "the  Ladie  Glammes."  She  was  one  of  seven 
fair  sisters  famous  as  "  the  pearls  of  Lockleven,"  and  was 
much  younger  than  the  rough  and  elderly  politician  whom 
she  married.  Matthew's  second  letter  goes  on  to  say  that 
the  Queen's  cleverness  and  her  jealousy  might  lead  her  to 
connivance  in  the  wild  schemes  of  Bothwell. 

If  the  Dreame  and  the  Complaint  preceding  are  connected, 
as  they  should  be,  with  Anne  Murray,  it  must  be  assumed 
that  they  were  written  before  her  marriage  in  1595,  though 
not  long  before,  since  even  at  that  date  she  was  scarcely 
more  than  a  child.  The  titles  were  probably  added  much 
later.  The  placing  of  the  poems  in  this  period  is  made  more 
likely  by  evidence,  other  than  that  of  Matthew's  letter, 
that  the  royal  couple  were  at  this  time  troubled  by  petty 
mutual  jealousies.  Colville  (Letters,  Bann.  Club,  p.  109)  has 
extravagant  tales  of  the  King's  suspicions  of  both  Lennox 
and  Bothwell.  Ordinarily,  and  later,  their  relations  were 


80 

sufficiently  amiable.  We  should  have  heard  more  of  the 
affair  with  Lady  Glamis  if  it  had  been  other  than  a  conven- 
tional, half  literary,  flirtation.  Its  chief  interest  is  its  evi- 
dence that  the  King  was  not  at  all  times  the  cool,  uncourtly, 
hunt-loving  gentleman  of  contemporary  descriptions. 

Unfortunately  the  poems  contain  no  internal  evidence 
to  complete  the  identification.  According  to  Sir  James 
Balfour  Paul,  Lord  Lyon,  who  has  kindly  read  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  tablet,  11.  170-240,  there  is  nothing  heraldic  in 
the  passage  ;  the  tablet,  which  was  presumably  in  the  shape 
of  a  locket,  was  merely  engraved  or  enameled  with  fanciful 
symbolical  devices  common  in  the  age  in  which  the  poem 
was  written. 

10-16.  A  parallel  passage  occurs  in  the  Chorus  Venetus  at 
the  end  of  the  King's  Lepanto  (Exercises  at  vacant  houres, 


"  The  God  with  golden  wings  through  ports, 

Of  home  doth  to  me  creepe, 
Who  changes  ofter  shapes  transformd 
Then  Proteus  in  the  deepe." 

ii.  Ports  of  home.  The  twofold  gates  of  the  house  of 
sleep,  one  of  horn  and  one  of  ivory,  described  in  the  Iliad, 
Bk.  XIX,  11.  362-367,  and  in  tiae&neid,  Bk.  VI,  11.  893-896. 

31.  Flying  horse  and  riding  joule.  Periphrases  for  Pega- 
sus, the  winged  horsed  tamed  by  Minerva  and  given  to  the 
Muses. 

61.  The  humours  jour.     Cf.  note,  LVI,  25. 

88.  Wedd.     A  pledge  or  gage. 

91.  Cust.  Preterit  of  cast,  here  meaning  to  set  one's 
mind  to,  or  ponder. 

117.  The  secret  vertues  of  the  amethyst.  Pliny  (Nat. 
Hist.,  lib.  xxxvii,  cap.  40)  refers  to  the  notion  that  the  stone 
was  a  preventive  of  inebriety  (whence  thename,a  +  A«.e0t>o-To<?) 
and  a  charm  against  noxious  spells.  Its  value  to  the  soldier 
and  hunter  is  stated  more  explicitly  in  Cardanus  (De  Gemmis 
et  Coloribus,  Opera,  ed.  1663,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  50):  "Effecit 
sedatum,  vigilantem.  Ebrietatem  reprimere  .  .  .  testan- 


81 

tur;  ad  pugnas  quoque  et  venitiones  utile  esse;  acuit 
ingenium,  et  somnum  minuit,  vapores  enim  a  capite  arcet." 
Cf.  also  the  poem  of  Remy  Belleau,  Les  Amours  et  Nouveaux 
Exchanges  des  Pierres  Precieuses  ((Euvres,  ed.  Marty-La- 
veaux,  Vol.  II,  p.  165) :  — 

"  .     .     .en  garde  son  porteur 
De  jamais  s'enivrer  de  ma  douce  liqueur. 

Plus  je  vueil  qu'elle  rende  agreable  et  gentil, 
Sobre,  honeste,  curtois,  d'esprit  promt  et  subtil." 


XVIII 

In  the  Reulis  and  cautelis,  Ch.  VII,  James  quotes  a  six-line 
tetrameter  stave  of  Montgomerie's,  rhymed  as  in  the  present 
poem, with  the  comment :  "In  materisof  love, use  this  kynde 
of  verse,  quhilk  we  call  Commoun  verse.  .  .  .  Lyke  verse 
of  ten  feet  [syllables],  as  this  foirsaid  is  of  aucht,  ye  may  use 
lykewayis  in  love  materis."  Gascoigne,  in  his  Notes  of  In- 
struction (Elizabethan  Critical  Essays,  Vol.  I,  p.  54),  calls 
the  same  stanza  ballade. 

James's  sources  for  the  animal  lore  of  the  poem,  so  far 
as  it  is  not  a  matter  of  common  observation,  are  suggested 
by  his  note  on  the  Phoenix  at  the  end  of  The  Essayes  of  a 
Prentise,  where  he  quotes  Pliny's  Historia  Naturalis,  and 
adds  that  he  has  helped  himself  also  to  "the  Phoenix  of 
Lactantius  Firmianus,  with  Gesnerus  de  Avibus,  &  dyvers 
uthers."  Cardanus,  De  Animalibus  (De  Rerum  Varietate, 
lib.  vii),  would  have  supplied  all  that  was  not  in  Pliny; 
and  the  fifth  and  sixth  'Days'  of  Du  Bartas  are  little 
more  than  Pliny  turned  into  verse.  Both  versified 
natural  history  and  satire  on  women  are  common 
enough  types  of  poetry;  but  the  mingling  of  the  two 
in  the  present  poem  is,  so  far  as  the  editor  is  aware, 
original  with  James. 

3.  Marlions.    A  variety  of  hawk. 

5.  Mavises.  Thrushes. 
6 


82 

6.  And  lawocks  after  Candlemasse  to  spring.  I  find  no 
authority  for  the  exact  date.  In  the  Bodl.  MS.,  spring  is  a 
substitution  for  sing. 

10.  Gledds.     Kites,  falcons. 

11.  Kaes.     Jackdaws. 

18.  Ounces.    Lynx  (O.  F.,  Vonce).    The  loss  of  the  initial 
letter  is  due  to  confusion  with  the  article. 
21.  Conns.     Squirrels.  „ 

27.  Remora.     Suckernsh.     Cf.  Spenser's  Worlds  Vanitie, 
11.  108-109  :  — 

"A  little  fish,  that  men  called  Remora, 
Which  stopt  her  course,  and  held  her  by  the  heele." 

28.  Sea  horse.     Hippopotamus. 

29.  Crevises.     Crayfish. 

31.  In  medieval  legend,  mermaids  and  sirens  were  usually 
confused.     Cf .  Spenser,  Faerie  Queene,  II,  xii,  st.  2 1 :  — 

"  Transform'd  to  fish,  for  their  bold  surquedry; 

To  allure  weake  travellers  whom  gotten  they  did  kill." 

32.  As  delphins  loves  all  bairns.     Pliny  (lib.  x,  cap.  viii) 
tells  of  children  carried  on  dolphins'  backs  and  otherwise 
befriended. 

34.  Mareswines.    Porpoises  (Lat.,  piscis  porous;    Mod. 
Fr.,  marsouin). 

35.  Salmon.     In  a  letter  to  the  Privy  Council  of  Scotland, 
December  15,  161 6,  giving  reasons  for  his  projected  visit  hi 
the  next  year,  the  King  speaks  of  a  "salmonlyke  instinct  of 
ours  ...  to  see  our  native  soil  and  place  of  our  birth  and 
breeding." 

36.  Selchs.    Seals. 

36.  Rawnes,  roe.    Cf.  Pliny,  lib.  ix,  cap.  xv. 

XIX 

Since  the  seas  still  separated  the  lovers  (cf.  1.  5),  the  song 
must  have  been  written  before  the  King's  departure  for 


83 

Norway.  The  "long  wished  meeting,"  then,  would  refer 
merely  to  the  one  anticipated.  Rait  connects  with  the  poem 
the  following  characteristically  familiar  letter  from  Queen 
Anne  to  the  King  (Letters  to  King  James  the  Sixth,  Bann. 
Club,  p.  xlv)  :  - 

"Your  Ma:  letter  was  wellcume  to  me.  I  have  bin  as 
glad  of  the  faire  weather  as  your  self ;  and  the  last  part  of 
your  letter,  you  have  guessed  right  that  I  would  laugh  - 
who  wold  not  laugh  —  both  at  the  persons  and  the  sub- 
ject, but  more  at  so  well  a  chosen  Mercuric  betweene  Mars 
and  Venus,  and  you  knowe  that  women  can  hardly  keepe 
counsell,  I  humbly  desire  your  Mt.  to  tell  me  how  it  is 
possible  that  I  should  keepe  this  secret  that  have  alreadie 
tolde  it,  and  shall  tell  it  to  as  manie  as  I  speake  with ;  if  I 
were  a  poete  I  wold  make  a  song  of  it,  and  sing  it  to  the 
tune  of  Three  fooles  well  mett." 

The  letter  is  undated,  but  the  intimate  style  and  the 
references  to  the  weather  and  the  English  tune  indicate  that 
it  was  written  long  after  their  marriage.  The  editor  of  the 
Letters  connects  it  plausibly  with  the  incongruous  match 
between  the  Earl  of  Nottingham,  a  gallant  of  seventy  years, 
and  Lady  Margaret  Stuart,  September,  1603. 

XX 

3.  Leanders  hart  and  Heros  als.  Cf .  a  letter  of  W.  Asheby, 
an  English  correspondent  in  Scotland,  to  Elizabeth  (Cal.  S. 
P.  Sco.,  October  23,  1589) :  "The  King's  impatience  for  his 
love  and  lady  hath  so  transported  him  in  mind  and  body  that 
he  is  about  to  commit  himself,  Leander  like,  to  the  waves  of 
the  ocean."  It  seems  likely  that  the  writer  got  his  compari- 
son from  the  song,  in  which  case  the  latter  must  have  been 
written  prior  to  the  King's  departure. 

29.  Whill  envie  called  a  naile.  If,  as  is  likely,  the  poem 
was  written  before  the  King  left  Scotland,  the  obstacle  hi 
question  may  be  connected  with  Queen  Elizabeth  and  Mait- 
land.  Of  their  conduct  during  the  spring  of  1589,  while  the 


84 

marriage  was  still  in  debate,  Sir  James  Melville  writes  as 
follows:  "The  Quen  of  Englandis  answer  was,  not  to 
mary  in  Denmark.  Sche  had  credit  with  K.  and  princes  of 
Navarre.  .  .  .  Upon  this  answer  of  England,  our  counsail 
wer  convenit,  and  pratikit  and  intysed  to  vot,  as  the  maist 
part  of  them  did,  against  the  marriage  of  Denmark.  Whereat 
his  Maieste  tok  sic  a  dispyt,  as  that  he  caused  ane  of  his 
maist  famylier  servandis  deall  secretly  with  some  of  the 
deakens  of  the  craf  tismen  of  Edenbrough,  to  mak  a  maner  of 
mutinerie  against  the  chanceler  and  consaill,  boisting  to  slay 
the  said  chanceler,  incaice  the  mariage  with  the  K.  of  Den- 
markis  dochter  wer  hendrit  or  any  langer  delayed."  — 
Memoirs,  Bann.  Club,  p.  368. 

XXI 

The  poem  is  quoted  by  T.  F.  Henderson,  Scottish  Vernacu- 
lar Literature,  p.  267,  with  the  comment  that  it  has  "a  cer- 
tain semblance  of  dignity  and  grace  .  .  .  but  the  close  is 
mean  and  tame ;  nor  has  the  poem  anything  of  the  character 
of  a  sonnet."  The  final  couplet,  though  here  slightly  im- 
proved by  the  King's  change  of  do  his  will  to  honoure  him, 
is  spoiled  for  modern  ears  by  the  faulty  rhyme.  As  a  rule 
the  attention  to  formal  structure  in  the  King's  sonnets  is  one 
of  their  chief  virtues. 

4.  Bearded.  Used  of  a  comet  (stella  crinita)  with  a  train 
or  tail. 

6.  Rearding.  Roaring ;  applied  especially  to  the  noise  of 
thunder.  Cf .  XLIII,  14. 

XXII 

Patrick  Adamson  (1537-1592)  received  his  education  in 
Scotland ;  but,  like  most  Scottish  scholars  of  the  period,  he 
spent  several  years  abroad  (1566— c.  1571).  On  his  return 
he  was  granted,  in  1572,  a  pension  of  £300  from  the  Crown 
(Calderwood,  History  of  the  Kirk  of  Scotland,  Vol.  Ill,  p. 
210),  and  was  already  in  expectation  of  the  Bishopric  of 
St.  Andrews  (Ibid.,  p.  206),  to  which  he  was  finally  ap- 


85 

pointed  in  1576.  On  his  promotion  to  this  rich  benefice, 
the  poet  Montgomerie  remarked  that  he  had  often  heard 
Adamson  say,  "The  prophet  wald  mean  this,"  but  he  never 
understood  what  the  profit  really  meant  till  now.  (Mel- 
ville's Diary,  Bann.  Club,  p.  45.) 

Together  with  the  Bishop  of  Glasgow,  Robert  Mont- 
gomerie, Adamson  was  made  a  kind  of  opening  wedge  for  the 
establishment  of  episcopal  church  government  in  Scotland, 
and  consequently  a  butt  for  the  attacks  of  the  reformers. 
He  was  soundly  abused  in  verse  by  Robert  Semple,  and 
often  greeted  in  the  pulpit  by  the  groans  and  hisses  of  the 
faithful.  In  1582,  on  the  victory  of  the  Kirk  Party,  Adam- 
son  retired  to  his  Castle  of  St.  Andrews,  where  he  lay  ac- 
cording to  Calderwood  (Vol.  V,  p.  716)  "like  a  tod  in  a 
hole"  sick  of  a  great  "feditie"  or  swelling  (for  curing  which 
a  witch  was  later  burned  by  the  ministers) .  In  1 590,  Adam- 
son  was  excommunicated  by  the  Kirk,  deserted  by  the  King, 
and  the  income  of  his  see  turned  over  to  the  young  Duke 
of  Lennox.  Whether  deserved  or  not,  this  treatment  is  a 
rare  instance  of  unfaithfulness  on  the  part  of  the  King  to  a 
former  friend  and  servant. 

Adamson's  paraphrase  of  Jobus,  in  Latin  hexameters,  was 
written  in  Bourges  in  1567-1568,  but  was  not  printed  till 
his  works  were  collected  in  Patricii  Adamsoni  .  .  .  Poemata 
Sacra,  London,  1619.  The  King's  complimentary  sonnet 
was  also  first  printed  in  this  collection. 

i.  Bewes.    Boughs. 

XXIII 

The  home  of  the  famous  Danish  astronomer  Tycho  Brahe 
was  on  the  small  island  of  Hveen,  in  the  sound  between  Elsi- 
nore  and  Copenhagen,  where  he  had  built  a  large  observa- 
tory and  castle  called  Uraniborg.  Here  James  visited 
Brahe,  March  20,  1590,  and  spent  the  day  in  learned  dis- 
course, —  "de  mobilitate  praesertim,  quam  terras  Copernicus 
tribuit."  (Tychonis  Brahei  .  .  .  vita,  Petro  Gassendi,  The 
Hague,  ed.  1654,  pp.  103-105.)  In  1593  James  sent  the 
astronomer  a  thirty-year  privilege  for  the  circulation  of  his 


86 

books  in  Scotland,  and  with  it  two  sets  of  verses  in  Latin, 
which  were  published  in  Brahe's  Astronomies  instaurattz 
Progymnasmata,  Prague,  1602.  (Cf.  E.  Dreyer,  Tycho 
Brake,  a  Picture  of  Scientific  Life  and  Work  in  the  Sixteenth 
Century,  Edinburgh,  1890,  pp.  202-204.)  The  Latin  verses 
are  translations  of  the  second  sonnet  printed  here  and  of  the 
hexastich  following  (XXIII,  XXIV).  The  colophon  in 
Brahe  reads,  "Jacobus  Rex  f.  manuque  propria  scripsit"; 
but  it  is  probable  that  the  translations  were  by  Maitland. 
Cf.  A  Sonnet  to  Chanceller  Maitlane,  XXXIII,  and  note. 

XXIV 

3.  Graithe.     Equipment,  apparel. 

ii.  Looke.  For  its  use  as  a  transitive  verb,  cf.  App.  II, 
VIII,  3.  Cf.  also  Bas.  Dor.,  Roxb.  Club,  p.  12:  "Look 
the  Evangelists." 

XXV 

The  translation  in  Brahe's  Instauratce  is  given  in  Irving 
(Lives  of  the  Scotish  Poets,  Vol.  II,  p.  220)  as  follows :  — 

"Quam  temere  est  ausus  Phaeton,  vel  prsestat  Apollo, 
Qui  regit  iginomos  aethere  anhelus  equos : 
Plus  Tycho  :  cuncta  astra  regis ;  tibi  cedit  Apollo ; 
Charus  et  Uraniae  es  hospes,  alumnus,  amor." 

XXVI 

This  poem  was  originally  intended  for  Thomas  Hudson's 
translation  of  Du  Bartas's  Judith  (cf.  Introd.,  p.  xl),  and  was 
published  with  it  in  1584,  and  again  with  Hudson's  transla- 
tion in  the  1608  and  later  editions  of  Sylvester.  The  title 
was  first  supplied  in  the  present  collection  and  is  clearly  in- 
appropriate ;  Hudson's  English  descent  is  referred  to  at  the 
opening  of  the  sonnet,  and  his  modesty  at  the  close. 

1-3.  The  proper  reading  is  that  of  the  sonnet  as  first 
printed  in  Hudson :  — 


87 

"  Since  ye  immortal  sisters  nine  hes  left 
All  other  countries  lying  farre  or  neere 
To  follow  him  who  from  them  all  you  reft." 

9.  Youre.  His,  the  reading  in  Hudson,  is  again  preferable. 
13.  Nor  preasseth  but  to  louche  the  laurell  tree.    The  line 
refers  to  the  motto  on  Hudson's  title-page :  — 

"Ye  learned,  binde  your  browes  with  Laurer  band : 
I  prease  but  for  to  touch  it  with  my  hand," 

which  is  itself  an  adaptation  of  the  last  lines  of  Du  Bartas's 
L'Uranie. 

XXVII 

The  poem  is  a  close  translation  of  a  fantastic  sonnet  by 
C.  De  Thouart,  at  the  beginning  of  Du  Bartas's  Seconde 
Semaine.  Thouart's  version,  which  follows,  is  in  turn  an 
awkward  variation  of  sonnet  CXV  in  the  Olive  of  Du 
Bellay :  - 

"De  quel  ciel  tires-tu  ton  scavoir  incroyable? 
Quel  est  le  feu  divin,  qui  t'inspire  1'ardeur  ? 
Quel  oiseau  pilles-tu  pour  trasser  ton  labeur  ? 
Ou  cueilles  tu  les  fleurs  d'un  livre  immutable  ? 

Sainct,  pur,  seul,  et  orne  (a  nul  qu'a  toy  semblable) 
Entendu,  contemple,  leu  et  fleure  par  1'heur 
De  ton  rare  scavoir,  clairte,  plume  et  odeur 
Au  ciel,  feu,  air,  et  terre  on  te  trouve  admirable. 

O  grand  Dieu  qui  entens  du  haut  ciel  ces  chansons : 
Qui  connois  ton  harpeur,  ardeur,  plume  et  fleurons 
Ne  permets  qu'il  perisse  en  sa  course  imparfaite : 

Toujours  assez  a  temps  son  scavoir  dans  les  Cieux 
Changera  1'ame  en  Astre,  et  son  ardeur  en  feux, 
Sa  plume  en  Phcenix,  et  son  corps  en  fleurette." 

ii.  Midrinke.  The  word  is  a  translation  of  course  im- 
parfaite in  Thouart's  sonnet.  It  is  not  given  in  N.E.D.; 
but  since  rink  was  the  usual  Scottish  word  for  the  course  in 
a  joust  or  tournament,  midrinke  may  be  explained  as  mid- 
course  or  mid-career. 


88 

XXVIII 

6.  Ponant.  The  west.  A  formation  from  Lat.  ponere 
after  the  analogy  of  Levant.  Cf .  Du  Bartas,  Premiere  Se- 
maine,  Second  Jour.,  1.  397  :  — 

"  De  1'Aurore  au  Ponant,  et  du  Ponant  encore." 

XXIX 

The  MS.  of  Fowler's  translation  of  Petrarch,  preserved  in 
the  Drummond  Collection  in  the  Edinburgh  University 
Library,  is  described  by  Irving  (History  of  Scotish  Poetry, 
p.  464)  as  follows:  "The  Trivmphs  of  the  most  famovs  Poet 
Mr.  Francis  Petrarke,  translated  ovt  of  Italian  into  Inglish  by 
Mr.  Wm.  Fouler,  P.  of  Hauicke.  MS.  fol.  The  dedication 
[to  the  wife  of  Chancellor  Maitland]  is  dated  at  Edinburgh 
on  the  iyth  of  December,  1587.  The  King's  sonnet  is  fol- 
lowed by  other  two,  written  by  E.  D.  in  praise  of  her  friend 
the  translator;  and  after  three  sonnets  by  R.  Hudson,  R. 
Cockburne,  and  T.  Hudson,  occurs  a  hexastich  by  A.  Col- 
ville."  R.  Cockburne  was  Sir  Richard  Cockburne  of  Leth- 
ington,  a  nephew  of  Maitland,  who  received  in  April,  1591, 
the  latter's  office  of  Secretary  of  State.  A.  Colville  was  a 
son  of  Alexander  Colville,  Commendator  of  Culross,  and 
succeeded  to  the  title  on  his  father's  death  in  1597  (Letters 
of  J.  Colville,  Bann.  Club,  p.  xii.)  Both  Cockburne  and 
Colville,  like  Fowler,  were  at  times  correspondents  in 
the  English  service. 

13.  Love,  chastness,  deathe,  and  fame.  The  themes  of  the 
first  four  of  Petrarch's  six  Trionfi. 

XXX 

While  there  is  no  evidence  that  Sidney  ever  visited  Scot- 
land, there  is  good  reason  for  believing  that  he  and  James 
were  on  friendly  terms  and  that  communication  had  passed 
between  them.  Sir  Edward  Wotton's  letters  of  instruction 
on  his  departure  for  Scotland  as  ambassador  were  delivered 
to  him  by  Sidney  (Col.  S.  P.  Sco.,  May  23,  1585),  who  may 


89 

well  have  added  such  books  and  verse  as  he  thought  would 
please  the  King's  taste.  It  was  in  the  saddle  bags  of  en- 
voys that  books  and  culture  were  generally  carried  into 
Scotland.  James's  favorite,  the  Master  of  Gray,  was  also  a 
friend  of  Sidney.  "  He  and  I,"  writes  Gray, "  had  that  friend- 
ship, I  must  confess  the  truth,  that  moved  me  to  desire  so 
much  my  voyage  to  the  Low  Countries."  (Papers  of  Gray, 
Bann.  Club,  November  6,  1587).  Gray  was  a  scholar,  and 
no  doubt  strengthened  his  position  at  court  by  tales  of  the  ac- 
complishments of  his  poetical  acquaintance  in  England.  At 
the  close  of  Sidney's  last  letter  to  Gray,  from  Nymwegen, 
May  17,  1586  (Ibid.,  p.  78),  there  is  a  message  to  the  King 
of  more  than  conventional  friendliness :  "And  which  is  the 
last,  or  rather  the  first  point,  hold  me,  I  beseech  you,  in  the 
gracious  remembrance  of  your  King,  whom  indeed  I  love." 

In  the  Cambridge  poems,  James's  sonnet  is  followed  by 
a  Latin  translation  and  a  hexastich,  both  by  the  King, 
together  with  translations  from  the  hands  of  the  Master  of 
Gray,  Maitland,  Alexander  Seaton,  and  Col.  Ja.  Halkerton 
(a  leader  of  Gray's  troops  for  the  Low  countries.  —  Ibid., 
p.  78).  The  King's  Latin  sonnet  is  entitled,  In  Philippi 
Sidncei  interitum  Illustrissimi  Scotorum  Regis  carmen;  it  is 
reprinted,  with  the  hexastich,  in  Irving's  Lives  of  the  Scotish 
Poets,  Vol.  II,  p.  216. 

7.  Mell.     Combine  or  mingle.     (O.F.,  meller.) 

XXXI 

John  Shaw  was  killed  in  defense  of  the  King  on  the  night 
of  December  27,  1591,  during  the  Earl  of  Bothwell's  attack 
on  James  and  Maitland  in  Holyrood  Palace.  The  towns- 
people were  roused  and  Bothwell  forced  to  flee.  "Yett  he 
returned,"  writes  Burel  (Diary,  December  28,  1591),  "at  the 
south  syde  of  the  Abbay,  quher  the  said  Earle  and  hes 
complices  slew  hes  Maiesties  maister  stabler  named  Villiam 
Shaw,  and  ane  with  him  naimed  Mr.  Peiter  Shaw."  Eight 
of  Bothwell's  fellows  were  caught  and  hanged  next  morning. 
"The  28  of  December,"  continues  Burel,  "ye  Kings  Maies- 


90 

tie  came  to  St.  Geills  Kirk,  and  there  made  ane  oratione 
anent  the  fray  made  by  Bothuell,  and  William  Shaw's 
slauchter."  The  name  William  is  probably  due  to  a  con- 
fusion with  William  Shaw,  the  King's  master  of  works. 

Montgomerie's  Epitaph  of  Johne  and  Patrik  Shaues  (Misc. 
Poems,  LVII)  refers  in  lines  8-14  to  the  verses  of  the  King :  — 

"Then  more  praisuorthie  Pelicans  of  Shawis 
Quhais  saikles  bluid  wes  for  your  souerane  shed, 
Lo,  blessit  brether,  both  in  honours  bed  ! 
His  sacred  self  your  trumpet  bravely  blauis. 
By  Castor  and  by  Pollux,  you  may  boste, 
Deid  Shawis,  ye  live,  suppose  your  lyfis  be  loste." 


XXXIII 

Sir  John,  first  Baron  Maitland  of  Thirlestane  (c.  1545- 
1595)  was  a  son  of  Sir  Richard  Maitland,  now  remembered 
chiefly  for  his  collections  of  Scottish  poetry,  and  a  younger 
brother  of  William  Maitland  of  Lethington,  the  secretary  of 
Mary.  Maitland  was  made  Secretary  of  State  (May  18, 
1584),  Vice  Chancellor  (May  31,  1586),  and  Chancellor 
(July  29, 1587).  He  was  undoubtedly  the  most  fortunately 
chosen  of  the  King's  Scottish  councilors  —  not  only  '  the 
wisest  man  in  Scotland,'  in  Burleigh's  opinion  —  but  one 
who  was  in  sympathy  with  the  King's  middle  course  in  poli- 
tics and  religion  and  could  share  his  taste  for  books. 

For  the  note  which  James  sent  to  Maitland,  together 
with  the  sonnet,  cf.  App.  I,  V.  Maitland  wrote  Latin 
translations  of  the  King's  Epitaphe  on  Sidney  (XXX),  of 
his  sonnet  on  the  defeat  of  the  Armada  (App.  II,  II),  and  in 
all  probability  of  the  verses  on  Tycho  Brahe  (XXIV,  XXV). 
These,  with  other  of  his  poems  in  Latin  and  the  vernacular, 
are  printed  with  The  Poems  of  Sir  Richard  Maitland,  Bann. 
Club,  1830,  pp.  120-143.  The  pieces  in  Scottish  dialect  are 
vigorous  political  satires,  written  as  early  as  1571-1572. 

i .  //  he  who  valliant,  etc.  An  allusion  to  Alexander's  con- 
quest of  the  world  during  the  twelve  years  of  his  reign. 


91 

13.  Leide.    Language. 

Olet  lucernam,  etc.  The  King  probably  had  in  mind  De- 
mosthenes' retort  to  Pythias  when  told  that  his  arguments 
smelt  of  the  lamp  (eXXtr^tW  o£eti>) .  Demosthenes'  answer 
as  given  in  Plutarch  (Demosthenes,  vii)  was  to  the  effect  that 
his  lamp  witnessed  more  commendable  occupations  than 
those  of  Pythias. 

XXXIV 

For  Montgomerie's  relations  with  the  King,  and  the 
date  of  his  death,  cf.  Introd.,  Ch.  II. 

2.  Castalian  band.  The  name  adopted  by  the  group  of 
poets  in  the  Scottish  Court.  Cf.  Montgomerie's  Sonnet 
to  R.  Hudson  (XXV,  1.  i) :  — 

"My  best  belouit  brother  of  the  band." 

Cf.  also  Dempster's  account  of  Montgomerie  (Hist.  Eccles. 
Gent.  Scot.,  Bann.  Club,  p.  496:  "...  regi  carrissimus 
Jacobo,  qui  poeticen  mirifice  eo  aevo  amplexabatur,  quique 
poetas  claros  sodales  suos  vulgo  vocari  voluit.  .  .  ." 

XXXV 

10.  Tirrar.     One  who  tears  or  strips. 

XXXVI 

The  name  cenigme  and  the  form  are  both  taken  from  the 
French  (e.g.  the  poem  entitled  Enigme,  Saint-Gelais,  Poesies, 
Vol.  I,  p.  70).  Montgomerie  has  a  similar  riddle  on  his 
lawyer,  M.  J.  Sharpe  (sonnet  XXIII),  and  another  on  His 
Maistres  Name  (sonnet  XL VI).  This  supports  the  pre- 
sumption that  the  poem  was  written  while  the  King  was 
still  in  Scotland.  The  date  is  of  especial  interest,  for  in  the 
sonnet  the  King  is  almost  certainly  emulating  some  earlier 
treatment  of  the  familiar  theme.  One  would  like  to  believe 
that  2  Henry  IV  had  been  played  in  Scotland  during 
one  of  the  early  visits  of  English  actors  and  the  King 
stirred  by  the  beautiful  apostrophe  at  the  beginning  of 


92 

Act  III.  This,  however,  is  supported  merely  by  the  verbal 
similarity  of  the  two  passages ;  James  may  have  derived  his 
idea  from  Sidney's  sonnet  (Astrophel  and  Stella,  xxxix), 
or  more  likely  from  some  classical  source  such  as  Seneca's 
Hercules  Furens,  11.  1065-1081,  or  the  Orphic  Hymn  to 
Sleep.  (For  the  sources  of  English  poems  on  the  subject,  cf . 
A.  S.  Cook,  Mod.  Lang.  Notes,  Vol.  IV, p.  466 ;  Vol.  V,p.  u.) 

XXXVII 

Francis  Stewart  Hepburn  (c.  1563-1624)  was  the  sixth 
Earl  of  Bothwell,  a  nephew  of  Mary's  Bothwell,  and  an 
illegitimate  grandson  of  James  V.  His  raids  and  surprises 
made  him,  in  the  phrase  of  the  ministers  (Calderwood,  Vol.  V, 
p.  256),  "a  sanctified  plague"  to  the  King,  and  were  so  fre- 
quent that  it  is  not  easy  to  decide  to  which  one  the  present 
poem  and  the  two  following  refer.  The  circumstances, 
however,  best  fit  what  the  King  himself  calls  "Bothwell's 
surprysing  of  my  person"  (Letters  of  James  to  Eliz.,  Camd. 
Soc.,  p.  88),  July  24,  1593.  Bothwell  and  John  Colville, 
the  Earl's  companion  and  an  agent  in  the  employ  of  Bur- 
leigh,  were  concealed  in  the  early  morning  behind  the  arras 
in  the  King's  antechamber,  and  the  door  leading  to  the 
Queen's  room  was  locked  lest  the  King  escape.  "He  [Both- 
well]  had  a  drawen  suerd  in  his  hand,"  writes  Melville 
(Memoirs,  Bann.  Club,  p.  414),  "and  Mester  Jhon  Colville 
another.  His  Majesties  claise  wer  louse,  and  his  hose  not 
knet  up ;  yet  he  was  in  nawayes  astonishit  bot  began  calling 
them  false  traitours,  bidding  them  stryk  gif  they  durst." 
Bowes  gives  similar  testimony  regarding  the  King's  courage 
and  volubility  (Tytler,  Hist,  of  Scot.,  Vol.  IX,  p.  89). 
Bothwell  kneeled  melodramatically  and  presented  his  sword. 
By  this  time  Lennox,  Atholl,  and  others  were  in  the  room 
and  an  Edinburgh  rabble  in  the  palace-yard.  In  the  end 
Bothwell  forced  James  to  give  him  a  commission  of  pardon, 
and  rode  off  leaving  the  King  practically  a  prisoner  in  the 
palace. 

On  the  loth  of  August,  the  Earl,  now  that  he  was  in 


93 

power,  consented  to  stand  trial  for  treasonable  practices, 
alleged  to  have  been  committed  at  the  time  of  the  King's 
marriage.  He  was  accused  of  bargaining  with  the  wizard 
Graham  for  a  poison  "  made  of  adders  skynnes,  tode  skynnes, 
and  the  hipomanes  in  the  forehead  of  a  yong  fole,  all  which 
being  joined  by  there  arte  together,  should  be  such  a  poison 
as  being  laid  where  the  kinge  should  come,  so  as  yt  might 
dropp  uppon  his  head,  yt  wold  be  a  poison  of  such  vehe- 
mencye,  as  should  have  presently  cut  him  off.  Another  maner 
device  for  his  destruction  was  this  —  to  make  his  picture  of 
waxe  mingled  with  certen  other  thinges,  which  should  have 
consumed  and  melted  awaye  in  tyme,  meaning  the  kinge 
should  consume  as  it  did.  A  third  mean  to  cut  him  off  was 
—  he  should  be  enchanted  to  remayne  in  Denmarke."  — 
Letter  from  Carey  to  Burleigh,  Col.  of  Border  Papers, 
August  12,  1593.  Neither  the  quality  of  the  evidence  nor 
the  fact  that  James  was  still  alive  and  back  in  Scotland 
had  much  to  do  with  Bothwell's  acquittal. 

The  morning  after  the  trial,  August  n,  James  attempted 
to  escape  to  Falkland,  but  was  discovered  and  stopped. 
Again,  with  the  help  of  the  English  envoy  Bowes,  an  agree- 
ment was  patched  up  by  which  James  consented  to  the 
pardon  of  Bothwell  and  the  retirement  of  Maitland,  Hume, 
and  Glamis  until  the  Parliament  at  Stirling  a  month  later. 
For  James,  as  he  explained  in  a  message  to  Elizabeth  (Letters, 
Camd.  Soc.,  p.  89),  this  was  the  mere  "shaddow  of  a  promeis 
.  .  .  forcit  not  onlie  for  my  owin  safetie  but  also  for  the 
safe  tie  of  my  quhole  countrey  in  me"  —  simply  a  truce,  as 
every  one  concerned  understood.  Before  the  parliament 
assembled,  James's  power  was  strengthened  and  Bothwell 
forced  into  an  alliance  with  the  Catholic  party,  —  a  false 
step,  which  caused  his  Kirk  supporters  to  'start  and  wonder' 
and  astonished  that  devout  Protestant  and  secret  ally,  the 
Queen  of  England.  In  November,  Bothwell  was  given  fif- 
teen days  to  leave  the  kingdom  and  was  forced  to  seek  tem- 
porary refuge  across  the  Border. 

The  three  sonnets  relate  to  this  sequence  of  events  and 
indicate  the  King's  feelings  and  policy  following  his  capture. 


94 

The  "coloured  knaves  "and  "monstrous  foules"  (XXXVIII, 
5,  12)  are  Bothwell  and  his  confederates.  The  complaints 
against  Justice  in  XXXIX  probably  refer  specifically  to 
Bothwell's  acquittal. 

The  form  of  the  sonnet  imitates  the  debates  of  Danger, 
Courage,  and  other  abstractions  in  Montgomerie's  The 
Cherrie  and  the  Sloe.  Cf.  11.  393-402  :  — 

"Quhat  can  thou  losse,  quhen  honour  lyvis? 
Renowne  thy  vertew  ay  reuyuis, 

Gif  valiauntlie  thou  end  :" 
Quod  Danger,  "Hulie,  friend,  tak  heid; 
Vntymous  spurring  spillis  the  steid : 

Tak  tent  quhat  ye  pretend. 
Thocht  Courage  counsell  thee  to  clim, 

Bewar  thou  kep  na  skaith  : 
Haif  thou  na  help  bot  Hope  and  him  ? 

They  may  beguyle  the  baith." 

i.  Faschious.  Troublesome,  vexatious.  Cf.  Bas.  Dor., 
Roxburghe  Club,  p.  125:  "faschious  thoughts  on  their  af- 
faires." 

ii.  Kithe.     Show,  make  known. 

XXXVIII 

3.  Farde.  A  paint  for  the  face.  Pained  farde  was  a 
conventional  phrase  for  flattery  or  slander.  Cf.  M  in  our  j or 
Magistrates,  Lochrinus,  st.  xxvii :  — 

"  Though  yee  coloure  all  with  coate  of  ryght, 
No  fayned  fard  deceaues  or  dimmes  his  sight." 

14.  Resave.     Receive. 

XXXIX 

With  this  poem  should,  I  think,  be  connected  sonnets  VI 
and  VII  of  Montgomerie,  who  at  this  time  seems  to  have 
echoed  from  his  retirement  all  the  verses  of  the  King  that 
reached  him.  The  second  at  least  may  be  dated  in  this 
period  by  the  reference  in  line  13  to  "thir  bluidy  sarks," 


95 

carried  through  Edinburgh,  July  23,  1593,  by  women  whose 
sons  and  husbands  had  been  slaughtered  by  the  Laird  of 
Johnstone  (Calderwood,  Hist,  of  the  Kirk,  Vol.  V,  p.  256.) 

2.  Fleemed.     Fromfleme,  to  put  to  flight. 
8.  Speare.    Ask. 

14.  Meschant.    Wicked  (Fr.,  meschant}. 

XL 

As  indicated  in  the  footnote,  this  and  the  three  following 
sonnets  are  printed  in  The  Essayes  of  a  Prentise  and  crossed 
out  in  the  MS.  They  are  of  slight  interest  and  are  reprinted 
merely  to  present  the  MS.  completely. 

XLI 

8.  Windowes.     Eyes.     Mercury  lulled  Argus  to  sleep  by 
the  story  of  Pan  and  Syrinx. 

XLIII 

9.  Thy  greatest  thunders.     Explained  by  a  note  in  The  Es- 
sayes of  a  Prentise:     "Jupiter  (as  the  Poets  feinyeis)  had 
two  thunders,  whereof  he  sent  the  greatest  upon  the  Gyants, 
who  contemned  him." 

ii.  Semele.  James's  note  (Ibid.):  "Mother  of  Bac- 
chus, who  being  deceived  by  Juno,  made  Jupiter  come  to 
her  in  his  least  thunder,  which  nevertheless  consumde  her." 

14.  Rearde.     Roar,  as  of  cannon  or  thunder. 

XLV 

The  evidence  of  the  sonnet  regarding  Montgomerie's 
convivial  habits  requires  no  comment.  For  the  date  of  his 
death,  cf.  Introd.,  p.  xxxii. 

3.  Twise  borne  boye.    An  allusion  to  the  untimely  birth 
of  Bacchus  on  the  appearance  of  Jupiter  to  Semele  in  his 
least  thunder.     Cf.  note,  XLIII,  10. 

4.  Wight.     Strong,  powerful. 


96 

8.  Warde.  Rait,  uarrd;  glossed,  worsted.  The  sense  of 
the  passage  is  that  since  Bacchus  has  overcome  the  master 
poet,  lesser  writers  should  cease  to  strive  against  him. 

14.  Render.  Rait,  rander;  glossed,  talk  idly.  But 
here,  as  in  LIV,  14,  it  means  surrender,  give  up. 

XLVI 

For  the  King's  views  of  versification,  as  revealed  in  the 
poem,  cf.  Introd.  p.  Ixxxix. 

12.  Wayne.    There  is  a  play  on  the  words  wain  and  vein. 

13.  The  mettalls.     Cf.  variant,  your  mettalls.     In   1613 
James  granted  to  Alexander  the  right  of  working  a  silver 
mine  near  Linlithgow,  later   abandoned   as    unprofitable 
(Earl  of  Stirling's  Register  of  Royal  Letters,  Introd.,  p.  ix). 

XLVII 

It  is  perhaps  open  to  question  whether  the  date  1616  in  the 
title  is  old  style  or  new,  or  has  not  already  been  set  forward 
by  mistake.  In  the  years  1615-1617  the  only  severe  cold 
mentioned  by  Stowe  was  the  famous  frost  of  1615,  when  it 
began  to  snow  January  17  and  "continued  freezing  and 
snowing  .  .  .  untill  the  i4th  of  February  at  noon."  James 
was  at  Newmarket  in  February  of  both  this  year  and  the  one 
following.  In  Drummond  (Works,  ed.  1711,  p.  14),  the 
sonnet,  including  the  title,  corresponds  almost  exactly  to  its 
form  as  now  printed.  It  was  sent  to  Drummond  in  a  letter 
from  Alexander,  printed  with  it.  "I  have  sent  you  here," 
writes  Alexander,  "a  Sonnet,  which  the  King  made  the  last 
Week,  moved  by  the  Roughness  of  the  Season,  as  you  may 
perceive  by  his  Allusion  to  Saturn  and  Janus  Meeting.  This 
forced  the  Other  from  me."  Alexander's  verses  may  be 
quoted  as  a  sample  of  the  conventional  flattery  which  was 
heaped  on  the  King  as  prince  and  poet :  — 

"  When  Britain's  Monarch,  in  true  Greatness  great, 
His  Council's  Counsel,  did  Things  past  unfold, 
He  (eminent  in  Knowledge  as  in  State) 
What  might  occurr  oraculously  told ; 


97 

And  when,  far  rais'd  from  this  Terrestrial  Round, 
He  numbrous  Notes  with  measur'd  Fury  frames, 
Each  Accent  weigh'd,  no  Jarr  in  Sense,  or  Sound. 
He  Phoebus  seems,  his  Lines  Castalian  Streams, 
This  Worth  (though  much  we  owe)  doth  more  extort ; 
All  Honour  should,  but  it  constrains  to  Love, 
While  ravish'd  still  above  the  vulgar  Sort 
He  Prince,  or  Poet,  more  than  Man  doth  prove : 

But  all  his  due  who  can  afford  him  then, 

A  God  of  Poets,  and  a  King  of  Men." 

2.  Band.  Bond.     Baleful  band  =  quarrel. 

XL  VIII 

This  sonnet  may  be  connected  with  the  one  following 
by  the  fact  that  both  are  in  the  hand  of  Prince  Charles,  and 
by  their  difference  in  theme  and  superiority  in  finish  and 
dignity  to  the  other  poems  of  the  collection.  The  departure 
from  the  King's  usual  rhyme-scheme,  in  the  second  sonnet, 
may  indeed  raise  a  question  as  to  its  authorship.  But  it 
appears  in  a  MS.  which  now  contains  no  blank  spaces,  and  in 
which  poems  both  before  and  after  are  corrected  in  the  King's 
hand.  The  broad  Scots  dialect,  the  alliteration,  the  so- 
norousness of  the  verse,  are  all  marked  traits  of  the  King's 
style  at  its  best,  and  make  it  advisable,  in  the  absence  of 
other  evidence,  to  accept  the  contemporary  ascription. 

2.  Thole.    Endure. 

3.  Golden  Tagus.     Celebrated  in  classical  poetry  for  its 
glittering  sands.     Cf.  Lucan,  De  Bella  Civili,  Bk.  vii,  1. 

755:  — 

"  .     .     .  quidquid  Tagus  expuit  auri." 

4.  This  line  reappears  with  but  slight  changes  in  a  sonnet 
among  the  Poeticall  Essayes  of  Alexander  Craige,  Scotobri- 
tane,  London,  1604,  p.  31  (Hunterian  Club  reprint).     On 
p.   18   of  his  Recreations   (Edinburgh,    1609),  is  another 
sonnet  beginning,  — 

"  Fair  famous  He  where  Zoroastres  reigned," 
7 


98 

—  and  imitative  throughout  of  James's  sonnet  numbered 
XLIX.  Craige's  Essayes  are  dedicated  to  the  King,  from 
whom  in  1605  he  received  a  pension  of  four  hundred 
pounds  Scots. 

5.  Ladon.  "Pamela  and  Philoclea  .  .  .  resolved  to  beg 
Zelmanes  company  and  to  go,  while  the  heat  of  the  day 
lasted,  to  bathe  themselves,  as  the  Arcadian  nymphs  often 
do,  in  the  River  Ladon,  which  of  all  the  rivers  of  Greece  had 
the  price  for  excellent  pureness  and  sweetness."  (Sir 
Philip  Sidney,  Arcadia,  bk.  ii.) 

XLIX 

A  clue  to  the  date  of  the  poem  and  the  identity  of  the 
lady  referred  to  is  given  by  its  close  resemblance  to  a  sonnet 
written  by  Sir  David  Murray  of  Gorty,  Keeper  of  the 
Privy  Purse  to  Prince  Henry,  and  published  with  The 
Tragicall  Death  of  Sophonisba,  London,  1611 :  — 

"  Sonnet  on  the  death  of  the  Lady  Cicely  Weems,  Lady 
of  Tillebarne." 

"  Faire  Cicil's  losse,  be  thou  my  sable  song, 
Not  that  for  which  proud  Rome  and  Carthage  strave 
But  thine  more  famous,  whom  ago  not  long 
Untimely  death  intomb'd  so  soon  in  grave. 
Dear  sacred  Lady,  let  thy  ghost  receive 
These  dying  accents  of  my  mourning  quill, 
The  sweetest-smelling  incense  that  I  have, 
With  sighs  and  teares  upon  thy  hearse  to  spill. 
To  thee  (deare  Saint)  I  consecrate  ay  still 
These  sad  oblations  of  my  mirthlesse  mind, 
Who  while  thou  breath'd,  this  wondring  world  did  fill 
With  thy  perfections,  Phcenix  of  thy  kind : 

From  out  whose  ashes  hence  I  prophecie, 

Shall  never  such  another  Phcenix  flie." 

—  Bann.  Club  edition,  1823. 

Lady  Cicely  or  Cecilia  was  the  eldest  daughter  of  Sir  John 
Wemyss,  and  was  married  to  William  Murray,  who  on  his 


99 

father's  death  in  1613  became  the  second  Earl  of  Tullibard- 
ine.  The  contract  for  this  marriage  is  dated  October  30, 
1599  (Scots  Peerage,  Vol.  I,  p.  471),  and  since  Murray  was 
married  a  second  time  —  to  Dorothea,  daughter  of  the  Earl 
of  Atholl  —  in  September,  1604,  the  death  of  his  first  wife 
must  have  occurred  before  the  close  of  1603.  The  King's 
sonnet  was  presumably  written  not  long  after,  as  also  the 
Ccelia  and  Sophonisba  poems  of  Sir  David  Murray,  which 
may  reasonably  be  connected  with  the  death  of  his  cousin's 
wife.  Lady  Cicely,  it  should  be  added,  was  sister-in-law  of 
the  Lady  Glamis  of  the  King's  earlier  poems. 

i.  Agathocles.  Despot  of  Syracuse,  in  Sicily  (367-290 
B.C.). 

i.  Rang.  Reigned.  Cf.  Essayes  of  a  Prentise,  Lucanus 
Lib.  Quinto,  1.  28  :  — 

"  That  grace,  wherewith  God  maks  him  for  to  ring." 

3.  Bangsters  [MS.  bagsters].     Swash-bucklers,  bullies. 

10.  Farelies.  Marvels,  wonders.  James  puns  on  the 
same  word  in  his  remarks  on  the  speech  of  Dr.  James  Fairlie, 
one  of  the  orators  in  the  disputations  at  Stirling,  July  19, 
1617,  on  the  occasion  of  the  King's  visit:  "The  Defender 
is  justly  called  Fairlie,  his  thesis  had  some  fair  lies  in  it,  and 
he  sustained  them  very  fairly,  with  many  fair  lies  given  to 
the  Oppugners."  (Nichols,  Progresses  of  James,  Vol.  Ill, 
p.  309.) 


The  sonnet  bears  a  close  resemblance  to  Montgomerie's 
Complaint  of  his  Nativitie  (Misc.  Poems,  IV),  a  poem  of 
seven  stanzas  beginning  as  follows :  — 

"Since  that  the  Hevins  are  hinderers  of  my  hap, 
And  all  the  starris  so  strange  against  me  stand, 
Quhy  kild  not  Jove  me  with  his  thunder  clap, 
Hou  soon  the  midwyfe  held  me  in  hir  hand  ?" 

Montgomerie's  verses  are  a  complaint  to  the  King  on  the 
withdrawal  of  patronage,  and  it  is  possible  therefore  that 


100 

the  imitation  may  be  attributed  to  him.  In  any  case  the 
original  source  is  a  sonnet  in  Ronsard's  Amours  (ed.  Marty- 
Laveaux,  Vol.  I,  p.  28)  :  — 

"Quel  sort  malin,  quel  astre  me  fit  estre 
Jeune  et  si  fol,  et  de  malheur  si  plein  ? 
Quel  destin  fit  que  toujours  je  me  plain 
De  la  rigueur  d'un  trop  rigoureux  maistre  ? 
Quelle  des  Soeurs  a  1'heure  de  mon  estre 
Pour  mon  malheur  noircit  mon  fil  humain :  "  etc. 

6.  Spean'd.  Weaned.  (Cf.  spean  =  spoon.)  Cf.  Mel- 
ville's Diary,  Bann.  Club,  p.  180:  "The  bairn  .  .  .  seemed 
of  a  fyne  sanguine  constitution,  till  a  quarter  efter  he  was 
speaned." 

13.  Marcellus.  A  reference,  not  to  the  Roman  Consul  of 
that  name,  who  underwent  no  serious  tribulations,  but  to 
Marcellus  I,  who  was  elected  Pope  in  the  year  308,  and  died 
in  309.  According  to  a  legendary  Passio  Marcelli,  he  suf- 
fered persecution  and  was  condemned  to  work  as  a  slave. 


LI 

The  poem  shows  clearly  the  extent  to  which  Alexander 
Montgomerie,  "the  Master  poet,"  and  his  fellows  of  the 
Castalian  band  were  boon  companions  of  the  King's  youth. 
The  crossing  out  of  the  poem  in  the  MS.  may  indeed  indi- 
cate that  the  King  hesitated  to  publish  so  complete  a  revela- 
tion of  his  early  friends  and  pleasures,  or  else  considered  its 
facetious  tone  out  of  keeping  with  his  royal  dignity.  The 
quotation  of  the  tenth  stanza  in  the  Reulis  and  cautelis 
proves  that  the  piece  was  written  before  1585. 

13.  Olde  crucked  Robert.  Robert  Hudson,  one  of  the  four 
brothers  who  were  musicians  of  the  Chapel  Royal  (cf. 
Introd.,  p.  xxxix).  His  lameness  seems  to  have  suggested  to 
Montgomerie  a  comparison  with  Vulcan,  the  lame  black- 
smith of  mythology :  — 


101 

"My  best  belouit  brother  of  the  band, 
I  grein  to  sie  the  sillie  smiddy  smeik." 

—  Sonnet  XXV,  To  R.  Hudsone. 

"The  smeikie  smeithis  cairs  not  his  passit  trauel." 

—  Sonnet  XXX. 

2.  Sanders.    A  familiar  abbreviation  of  Alexander. 

13.  Makes  of  you  the  haire.     Gives  you  no  attention, '  does 
not  care  a  hair.'     Cf.  LII,  23.   * 

14.  Elfegett   Polward.    The   adjective   is   suggested   by 
1.  282  of  Montgomerie's  Flyting  with  Polwart,  quoted  later 
in  the  Reulis  and  cautelis :  — 

"There  ane  elf,  on  ane  ape,  ane  unsell  begat." 

Sir  Patrick  Hume  of  Polwarth  (d.  1609),  the  opponent  in  the 
Flyting,  was  at  one  time  master  of  the  household  and  a  gentle- 
man of  the  bed-chamber  to  King  James,  and  later  a  warden 
of  the  marches.  He  was  the  author  of  The  Promine,  con- 
teyning  the  maner,  place,  and  time,  of  the  maist  Illuster 
King  James  the  Sext  his  first  passing  to  the  feildis:  directit 
to  his  hieness:  Be  P.  H.  familiar  servitour  to  his  Maiestie, 
Edinburgh,  1 580.  (Reprint  in  Pinkerton's  Ane.  Pop.  Poetry, 
Edin.,  1822.)  The  poem  is  a  piece  of  conventional  extrava- 
gance of  no  biographical  value. 

1 6.  To  winne  the  chimnay  nuike.  Another  reference  to  the 
Flyting,  in  which  the  aim  of  the  contest  was  to  drive  the 
opponent  from  his  seat  in  the  chimney  corner.  Cf.  Mont- 
gomerie,  sonnet  XXVII :  — 

"Vhose  Highnes  laughed  som  tym  for  to  look 
Hou  I  chaist  Polwart  from  the  chimney  [nook]." 

18.  Rype.  To  clear  out,  or  clean.  Cf.  "rype  the  ribs 
[of  a  grate]."  (Jamieson's  Scottish  Dictionary.} 

25.  Cracking  crouslie.  Talking  or  boasting  boldly.  Cf. 
Burns,  Twa  Dogs,  1.  135  :  — 

"The  cantie  auld  folks  cracking  crouse." 


102 

• 
25.  Broune.     Rait  explains  as  brownie,  and  says  it  is  here 

"used  in  the  somewhat  unusual  sense  of  the  inspiring  genius 
of  a  poet."  It  seems  more  probable  that  it  refers  to  the 
color  of  the  horse. 

29.  Yaulde  and  wight.  Supple  and  strong.  Yaulde 
seems  to  be  an  adj.  from  the  pp.  of  yield. 

31.  Beleeve.    At  once,  soon. 

35.  A s  Dares  did.  The  story  of  the  contest  between 
Dares  and  Entellus  is  from  the  &neid,  Bk.  V,  11.  362-484. 
James,  no  doubt,  wrote  from  memory  of  the  original.  The 
closest  verbal  resemblance  to  Gawain  Douglas's  translation 
is  in  lines  40-46.  Cf .  Douglas,  S.  T.  Soc.,  Bk.  V.,  Ch.  vii :  — 

"Son  of  the  Goddes,  gyf  na  man  wil  rys 
Ne  dar  hym  self  adventure  in  batelle 
Quhy  stand  I  thus  ?  quhou  lang  efferis  me  duell  ? 
Cummand  me  leid  away  the  pryce  al  fre." 

35.  Ou'rhye.     Domineer  over,  outboast. 

71.  Feade.     Feud,  enmity. 

73-80.  The  stanza  is  quoted  in  the  Reulis  and  cautelis 
as  an  example  of  verse  "for  any  heich  grave  subjectis,  spe- 
cially drawin  out  of  learnit  authouris  .  .  .  callit  Ballat 
Royal."  In  the  quotation,  ye  (1.  73)  reads  he,  and  was  (1.  80) 
reads  Fell. 

72.  No  Latt.    Not  stop,  not  be  given  up. 

73.  Grien'd.     Grieved,  longed. 
78.  Gettie.    Black  as  jet. 

80.  Which  turned  into  a  floure.  An  alteration  of  the 
legend  for  exigencies  of  rhyme.  Tithonus  was  changed  into 
a  cricket. 

88.  Fawen.    Fallen. 

92.  It  had  bene  fil'd  your  face.  Your  face  had  been  de- 
nied. A  French  construction,  no  doubt  less  awkward  in 
James's  time  than  to-day.  Rait  calls  attention  to  the 
similar  accident  to  Nisus  in  the  race  preceding  the  boxing 
match  (&neid,  Bk.  V). 

97.  Rob  steene.  A  clever  verse  satire  against  Chancellor 
Maitland,  written  in  1591  and  entitled  Rob  Stene's  Dreme, 


103 

was  published  by  the  Maitland  Club  in  1836.  Mr.  Geo. 
Neilson  (Sco.  Hist.  Rev.,  Vol.  II,  p.  253,  and  cf.  p.  280)  has 
shown  that  there  was  actually  a  person  of  this  name,  who 
received  a  salary  of  £72  from  the  crown  in  the  year  1587- 
1588,  was  later  a  schoolmaster  of  Edinburgh,  contributed 
Latin  verses  to  The  Muses  Welcome  on  the  King's  return  to 
Scotland  hi  1617,  and  died  in  February,  1618.  Neilson 
concludes  that  the  author  of  the  satire  was  this  Edinburgh 
schoolmaster. 

While  space  is  lacking  to  consider  this  view  at  length, 
the  connection  of  the  name  with  Montgomerie  should  be 
indicated.  In  the  Flyting,  1.  660,  Polwart  applies  the  epi- 
thet directly  to  his  opponent :  — 

"Rob  Stevin  thou  raues,  forgetting  whom  thou  matches." 

It  occurs  again,  according  to  Neilson,  in  the  unpublished 
poems  of  J.  Stewart  of  Baldyness,  dedicated  to  the  King, 
where  a  set  of  verses,  in  which  the  last  words  of  each  line 
are  repeated  in  the  first  of  the  next,  is  spoken  of  as  "rym 
rymd  efter  sort  of  'guid  Rob  Steine."  Why  should  such  a 
curious  importation  of  a  foreign  fashion  be  connected  with 
an  obscure  young  Edinburgh  school-teacher?  The  fact 
that  Montgomerie's  sonnets  XLII,  XLIII,  are  so  written, 
though  considered  by  Neilson  "most  unimportant,"  seems 
quite  the  opposite  when  one  remembers  that,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  Stewart's  verses,  they  are  the  only  examples  of 
the  device  in  Scottish  poetry  of  the  period,  and  that  Mont- 
gomerie is  the  only  writer  from  whom  we  should  expect 
such  an  innovation.  As  a  third  recurrence  of  the  name,  we 
have  the  King's  use  of  it  in  the  present  poem,  in  the  same 
connection,  and  as  a  jest  with  some  hidden  meaning.  It 
may  be  noted  incidentally  that  the  payment  to  Stevin  was 
made  during  the  short  period  when  Montgomerie  was  de- 
prived of  his  pension.  The  use  of  such  an  alias  for  satirical 
or  other  purposes  would  of  course  have  a  multitude  of  paral- 
lels in  poetry  of  all  periods ;  one  need  go  for  an  example  no 
further  than  the  King's  William  Mow  in  the  present  poem. 
In  any  case,  the  discovery  of  an  individual  by  the  name  of 


104 

Rob  Stevin  does  not  altogether  solve  the  problem.  What 
was  its  humorous  significance  ?  And  why  applied  so  often 
to  Montgomerie  ? 

In  short,  it  is  by  no  means  certain,  after  all,  that  the 
latter  was  not  the  author  of  the  Dreme.  The  style  of  the 
satire  is  marked  by  a  command  of  language  and  meter 
equal  to  his  own ;  the  fulsome,  oddly  introduced  praise  of 
Montgomerie  as  "poet  laureatt"  is  itself  suspicious,  espe- 
cially since  such  '  cracking '  is  not  out  of  keeping  with  his 
character  and  occurs  in  his  admitted  work  (cf .  sonnets  LXII, 
LXVII).  Montgomerie's  sonnets  of  complaint,  like  the 
Dreme,  are  full  of  praise  of  the  King  and  attacks  on  his 
councilors.  Furthermore,  we  know  that  the  poet  fell  from 
open  favor  at  a  period  following  Maitland's  appointment 
to  the  chancellorship ;  whatever  the  cause  of  his  downfall,  it 
would  be  shrewd  and  characteristic  of  him  to  shift  the 
blame  from  the  King  himself  to  his  chief  adviser. 

107.  Christian  Lindsay.  There  are  two  references  to  this 
poetess  in  the  sonnets  of  Montgomerie ;  one  in  the  title  of 
sonnet  XXX,  supposedly  written  by  Christen  Lyndesay  to 
Ro.  Hudsone;  the  other  in  sonnet  XXV,  To  R.  Hudsone:  — 

u  Ye  can  pen  out  tua  cuple  an  ye  pleis ; 
Yourself  and  I,  old  Scot  and  Robert  Semple. 
Quhen  we  ar  dead,  that  all  our  dayis  bot  daffis, 
Let  Christan  Lyndesay  wryt  our  epitaphis." 

In  the  Edinburgh  Commissariat  Records,  February  17,  1596, 
"Christian  Lindsay,  spouse  to  John  of  Dunrod,  sheriff  of 
Lanark,"  is  so  mentioned  in  the  probate  of  her  husband's 
will.  John  Lindsay  of  Dunrod  was  knighted  at  the  bap- 
tism of  Prince  Henry  (Nichols,  Prog,  of  Eliz.,  Vol.  Ill,  p. 
368).  He  was  later  appointed  one  of  the  'Octavians'  in 
charge  of  the  treasury,  and  reported  as  about  to  go  abroad, 
March  5,  1597,  on  account  of  his  health.  (Cat.  of  Border 
Papers,  Vol.  II,  p.  274.) 

in.  Forder  then  the  creede.     Beyond  belief. 

112.  William  Mow.  A  pseudonym  probably  suggested 
by  mow  =  to  mock,  or  make  mouths ;  but  Mow  as  a  family 


105 

name  appears  not  infrequently  in  contemporary  records. 
It  may  be  noted  that  the  inverted  initials  of  this  name, 
M.  W.,  are  signed  to  one  of  the  prefatory  sonnets  in  The 
Essayes  of  a  Prentise  (cf.  Introd.,  p.  xxxix). 

112.  Lawing.    Literally,  a  tavern  bill  or  reckoning.    Here 
applied  to  the  evening  period  of  recreation. 

113.  Pro  pine.     An  offering  or  gift.     It  is  derived  from  the 
Greek  verb  TrpoTrfaeiv  =  to  pledge,  or  drink  a  health,  and  is 
thus  properly  connected  here  with  drinking. 

LII 

Mr.  Rait,  in  printing  the  poem  in  Lusus  Regius,  failed  to 
note  that  it  had  already  appeared  in  The  Essayes  of  a  Pren- 
tise, where  it  immediately  precedes  the  Reulis  and  cautelis. 
In  view  of  the  actual  source  of  the  poem,  however,  his  quo- 
tation from  Ecclesiastes  i.  7,  is  interesting:  "All  the  rivers 
run  into  the  sea ;  yet  the  sea  is  not  full ;  unto  the  place  from 
whence  the  rivers  come,  thither  they  return  again."  In  the 
Essayes,  James  quotes  the  following  passage  from  Lucan, 
De  Bella  Chili,  Bk.  V,  11,  335-340 :  — 

"  Caesaris  an  cursus  vestrae  sen  tire  putatis 
Damnum  posse  fugae  ?    Veluti  si  cuncta  minentur 
Flumina;  quos  miscent  pelago,  subducere  fontes : 
Non,  magis  ablatis  umquam  descenderet  aequor, 
Quam  nunc  crescit,  aquis.    An  vos  momenta  putatis 
Ulla  dedissi  mihi  ?  " 

LIII 

The  heading  in  the  Maitland  MS.,  The  King's  verses  when 
he  was  fyfteene  yeere  old,  places  the  date  of  the  poem  prior  to 
June  19,  1582.  The  stanza  in  which  it  is  written  is  the  so- 
called  Commoun  verse  mentioned  in  the  Reulis  and  cautelis 
(cf.  XVIII,  note).  In  Calderwood,  the  Antithesis  (App. 
II,  I)  follows  the  poem  as  printed  here ;  but  its  admonitory 
tone  and  its  omission  from  the  Maitland  and  the  Museum 
MSS.  raise  some  doubt  as  to  its  authorship.  The  senten- 


106 

tious  vein  of  both  pieces  is  one  of  the  commonest  in 
Scottish  poetry  of  the  Chaucerian  tradition,  though 
perhaps  closer  to  Dunbar's  A ne  his  awin  Ennemy,  In 
Asking  sowld  Discretioun  be,  etc.,  than  to  anything  in 
Montgomerie. 

LIV 

George  Gordon,  sixth  Earl  of  Huntly,  and  Lady  Henrietta 
Stuart,  daughter  of  the  first  Duke  of  Lennox,  were  married 
by  Archbishop  Adamson  in  the  chapel  of  Holyrood  Palace, 
July  21,  1588.  Huntly  had  been  given  5000  merks  to  bring 
his  bride  over  from  France,  and  received  from  the  King  as 
part  of  the  wedding  dowry  the  Abbey  of  Dunfermline  taken 
from  Gray  (Melville,  Memoirs,  Bann.  Club,  p.  361).  On 
November  28,  he  supplanted  Glamis  as  Captain  of  the 
Guard,  and  the  young  couple  remained  with  the  King  in 
Holyrood  until  the  discovery  of  the  'Spanish  blanks'  in 
February  revealed  Huntly's  bargainings  with  Spain. 
Though  he  made  some  pretense  of  conversion  at  the  time  of 
his  marriage,  the  Earl  had  been  and  remained  the  chief  noble 
of  the  Catholic  party  in  Scotland.  For  him,  says  Lang 
(Hist,  of  Scot.,  Vol.  II,  p.  343),  James  had  "one  of  his  tender 
fondnesses,"  but  it  should  be  recognized  that  the  favor  was 
due  in  large  part  to  the  King's  affection  for  his  kinswoman, 
the  daughter  of  d'Aubigny.  When  the  English  agent 
Fowler  reproached  James  for  his  clemency  towards  Huntly, 
he  replied  that  it  was  "for  the  friendship  of  a  young  lady  his 
daughter,  and  beloved  of  his  bluid. "  (Papers  of  Gray,  Bann. 
Club,  p.  168,  T.  Fowler  to  Burleigh,  June  22,  1589.)  The 
Countess  later  frequently  interceded  for  her  husband  at  court, 
and,  on  his  flight  and  the  forfeiture  of  his  estates  in  Febru- 
ary, 1593,  retained  his  principal  castle,  the  Bog  of  Gicht, 
for  her  winter  residence.  (Tytler,  Hist,  of  Scot.,  Vol.  IX, 

P-7-) 

The  Epithalamion  consists  of  verses  for  a  masque  or  enter- 
tainment accompanied  by  games  and  brilliant  spectacles, 
which  the  King  devised  to  celebrate  the  wedding.  Since  the 
time  was  summer,  these  festivities  no  doubt  were  held  in 


107 

the  garden  at  the  back  of  the  palace.  After  the  speech  of 
the  King  (11.  1-34),  Mercury  appeared  with  a  glittering 
train  of  fauns,  sylvans,  naiads,  nymphs,  and  other  spirits 
of  the  forest.  The  sonnet  (11.  61-74)  is  the  challenge  of  the 
masked  tilters,  who  now  rode  forward  in  the  incongruous 
disguise  of  fauns  and  satyrs.  The  masque  proper  followed 
the  tilting  and  probably  took  place  indoors  in  the  evening. 
The  lady  with  her  attendants  approached  the  King  seated  hi 
state  at  the  end  of  the  hall  (1.  86),  and  was  there  addressed 
by  her  rival  suitors.  The  numbering  of  the  speeches  would 
seem  to  indicate  that  only  a  portion  of  this  dialogue  has  been 
preserved. 

The  management  of  the  dialogue  commendably  illustrates 
the  King's  precepts  on  this  matter  in  the  Reulis  and  cautelis. 
"Ye  man  lykewayis  tak  heid,"  he  writes,  "that  ye  waill 
your  wordis  according  to  the  purpose :  as  in  ane  heich  and 
learnit  purpose  to  use  heich,  pithie,  and  learnit  wordis. 
Gif  your  purpose  be  of  love,  To  use  commoun  language,  with 
some  passionate  wordis.  Gif  your  purpose  be  of  tragicall 
materis,  To  use  lamentable  wordis,  with  some  heich,  as 
ravishit  in  admiratioun.  Gif  your  purpose  be  of  landwart 
effairis,  To  use  corrupit,  and  uplandis  wordis.  And  finally, 
quhatsumever  be  your  subject,  to  use  vocabula  artis,  quhair- 
by  ye  may  the  mair  vivelie  represent  that  persoun  quhais 
pairt  ye  paint  out."  Thus  Agrestis  speaks  a  broader  dialect 
than  the  rest;  the  soldier  uses  "lamentable  wordis,  with 
some  heich";  and  the  claims  of  all  four  candidates  are 
suited  to  their  callings. 

11-30.  Thalasse,  Volumna,  etc.  The  attributes  of  these 
for  the  most  part  obscure  Roman  gods  and  goddesses  of  mar- 
riage, childbirth,  and  nurture  are  as  a  rule  sufficiently  indi- 
cated by  their  names  and  by  the  context.  With  the  ex- 
ceptions of  Prosa  and  Egeria,  goddesses  of  childbirth,  and 
Thalasse  (Thalassios,  another  name  for  Hymen),  they  are 
all  found  in  St.  Augustine's  De  Civitate  Dei,  Bk.  IV,  11-21, 
and  were  probably,  as  Rait  suggests,  taken  directly  from 
this  source  or  from  a  list  in  some  Latin  grammar. 

16.  Revive  againe  a  blest  and  hap  pie  seede.    In  answer  to 


108 

the  prayer,  the  couple  were  blessed  with  a  family  of  five 
sons  and  four  daughters. 

17.  Vitumnus  and  Sentinus.  Gods  who  endow  infants 
with  life  and  senses.  "Ibi  sunt  et  duo  nescio  qui  obscuris- 
simi,  Vitumnus  et  Sentinus,  quorum  alter  vitam,  alter  sen- 
sum  puerperio  largiuntur."  (De  Civ.  Dei,  Bk.  VII,  2. 
—  Quoted  in  Rait.) 

21.  Levana.  The  goddess  invoked  by  the  parent  on 
first  lifting  an  infant  in  his  arms. 

23.  Vagitanus.  St.  Aug.,  Vaticanus.  The  god  who  pre- 
sided over  a  child's  first  cry. 

25.  Cunina.     The  protectress  of  cradles. 

27.  Rumina,  with  Edusa,  and  Potina.  Deities  who  pre- 
sided respectively  over  the  nursing  of  infants,  their  food, 
and  their  drink. 

29.  Statilinus.  Protector  of  infants  in  their  first  efforts 
to  walk  alone. 

41.  The  whisler  Pan.  The  King  himself  is  celebrated  as 
the  god  of  shooting  and  singing  in  Ben  Jonson's  masque, 
Pan's  Anniversary.  Cf.  Hymn  I:  — 

"Of  Pan  we  sing,  the  best  of  singers,  Pan, 
That  taught  us  swains  how  first  to  tune  our  lays, 

Of  Pan  we  sing,  the  best  of  hunters,  Pan, 
That  drives  the  hart  to  seek  unused  ways." 

46.  The  home  of  Amalthae.  Cornucopia  or  horn  of  plenty. 
An  allusion  to  the  goat's  horn  filled  with  fresh  herbs  and  fruit 
presented  by  the  nymph  Amalthea  to  the  infant  Zeus. 
According  to  another  version  of  the  legend,  the  deity  broke 
off  one  of  the  horns  of  the  goat  and  gave  it  to  his  nurses, 
endowing  it  with  the  power  of  becoming  filled  with  whatever 
the  possessor  might  wish. 

48.  Glove,  or  ring.  Though  the  N.E.D.  is  doubtful  on  the 
subject,  the  glove  was  clearly  used,  like  rings,  as  a  target  for 
a  spearsman  on  horseback.  Cf.  Marlowe's  Tamburlaine, 
Pt.II,  I,  iii,  39:  — 

"Trotting  the  ring,  and  tilting  at  a  glove." 


109 

In  A  True  Accompt  .  .  .  of  the  Baptism  of  .  .  .  Prince 
Henry,  Edinburgh,  [1594],  written  probably  by  William 
Fowler  (Nichols,  Progresses  of  Eliz.,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  353-369), 
there  is  a  description  of  an  entertainment,  similar  to  this 
one,  at  Stirling  Castle,  which  "devided  both  in  field- 
pastimes  with  martiall  and  heroicall  exploits,  and  in  house- 
hold with  rare  shewes  and  singular  inventions."  There 
was  "running  at  the  ring  and  glove,"  in  which  the  contest- 
ants, led  by  the  King,  were  three  Knights  of  Malta,  three 
Amazons,  and  three  Moors,  all  masked. 

55.  Allridge.     Elfish. 

60.  Wa.    Will. 

60.  What  racks  essaye  and  see.  What  harm  to  make  a 
trial.  Racks  is  a  form  of  the  verb  reck  —  to  take  heed  or 
take  care. 

65.  Sume  does  your  Court,  to  Arthurs  court  compare.  The 
comparison  was  made  later  by  Walter  Quin,  an  Irish  scholar 
and  teacher  of  languages,  who  wrote  a  sonnet  on  the  sub- 
ject, Charles  James  Stuart  claims  Arthurs  Seat.  (Preserved 
in  the  Records  Office  with  other  sonnets,  Latin  epigrams, 
anagrams  on  the  King's  name,  etc.,  by  the  same  author.  Cf. 
Cal.  S.  P.  Sco.,  p.  701.)  Though  the  title  plays  upon  the 
name  of  the  hill  overlooking  Holyrood,  the  poem  deals  chiefly 
with  James's  resemblance  to  his  illustrious  ancestor.  An 
anonymous  letter  to  Bowes  (Ibid.,  December  4, 1595)  speaks 
of  the  "arrival  of  Walter  Quin,  an  Irishman,  learned,  courtly 
and  well  traveled,  who  has  been  with  the  King  divers  times 
and  given  him  a  treatise  of  poesie.  Since  these  verses  were 
exhibited  to  the  King,  what  with  speaking  with  the  man, 
and  what  by  the  sending  of  the  verses,  and  the  bruit  arrived 
of  the  Spaniards,  the  King  has  become  incredibly  rejoiced." 
For  further  account  of  Quin,  cf.  Introd.,  p.  xxxviii. 

89.  kappit.  Entrapped,  possessed.  Cf .  Demonologie,  Bk. 
II,  c.  6:  —  "Yet  to  these  capped  creatures,  he  appears  as 
he  pleases,  and]  as  he  findes  meetest  for  their  humors." 
(Rait.) 

92.  Zanie.     Clown.    A  diminutive  of  the  Ital.  Giovanni. 

98.  Sillie.     Simple.     It  has  been  pointed  out  that  when 


110 

the  irascible  preacher  Andrew  Melville  took  James  by  the 
sleeve  in  Holyrood  Palace  and  called  him  "God's  sillie 
vassal  "  (J.  Melville's  Diary,  Bann.  Club,  p.  245,  October, 
1596),  he  was  probably  using  the  adjective  in  its  milder 
meaning. 

100.  Tine.    Lose. 

LV 

For  an  account  of  the  voyage  to  Denmark  and  the  King's 
marriage,  cf.  note  on  the  Amatoria,  pp.  69-71. 

3.  Ethnicks.  Pagans.  The  phrasing  and  thought  of  the 
passage  are  recalled  in  Montgomerie's  Epitaphe  of  Johne 
and  Patrik  Shanes,  11.  1-4  :  — 

"If  ethnik  aid  by  superstitious  stylis, 
Quhilk  poyson  yit  of  Paganisme  appeirs, 
Wer  stellified  to  rule  the  rolling  spheirs, 
As  Paganism  [pagan  ?]  poets  and  profane  compylis,"  etc. 

10.  Stounde.     Moment. 

20.  Rod.  A  not  uncommon  Scottish  spelling  of  road. 
(N.E.D.) 

25.  Redounding.     Overflowing,  abundant. 

32.  James  probably  changed  the  original  phrasing  to 
avoid  the  suggestion  of  limited  power  in  the  word  tyed. 
Cf.  the  reading  in  Rait  (footnote). 

33-36.  And  lacking  parents,  etc.  The  passage  is  remi- 
niscent of  The  Kingis  Majesteis  Declaratioun  upoun  the 
Causis  of  His  Departur  (Papers  relative  to  the  Marriage  of 
King  James  the  Sixth,  Bann.  Club,  p.  12  ff.) :  "As  to  the 
causes,  I  doubt  nochte  it  is  manifestlie  knowne  to  all  how  far 
I  wes  generallie  found  fault  with  be  all  men  for  the  delaying 
sa  lang  of  my  marriage ;  the  ressonis  wer,  that  I  wes  allane, 
without  fader  or  moder,  brouthir  or  sister,  king  of  this  realme 
and  air  appeirand  of  England ;  this  my  naikitnes  maid  me 
to  be  waik  and  my  Inemyis  to  be  stark,  ane  man  wes  as  na 
man,  and  the  want  of  hoip  of  succession  bread  disdayne." 
The  last  "King  that  was  a  man"  in  Scotland  was  James's 
grandfather,  James  V,  who  died  in  1542. 


Ill 

35.  Kitle.  Difficult  to  deal  with,  'ticklish.'  The  King 
in  his  letter  to  the  council  sought  to  convince  them  that  his 
journey  was  not  rash  or  dangerous,  considering  "  the  schorte- 
nes  of  the  way,  the  suretie  of  the  passage,  being  clene  of  all 
sandis,  foirlandis,  or  siclike  dangeiris,  the  harboreyis  in  these 
partis  sa  suir,  and  na  forreyne  fleetis  resorting  upoun  these 
seis.  It  is  my  plesure  then  that  na  man  grudge  or  murmour 
at  thir  my  procedingis." 

LVI 

For  an  account  of  the  relations  of  James  and  Du  Bartas, 
cf.  Introd.,  p.  xxxiv.  In  the  1 593  edition  of  Du  Bartas  (La 
Sepmaine  ou  Creation  du  Monde,  de  Guillaume  De  Sallust, 
seigneur  du  Bartas,  Paris,  1593),  which  is  the  earliest  to 
which  I  have  had  access,  the  passage  translated  occurs  not 
in  the  first  'day,'  but  in  the  Second  Jour  de  la  [premiere] 
semaine,  11.  41-107.  The  translation  is  almost  line  for  line 
and  very  close,  save  that  the  unfortunately  long  meter 
which  James  has  chosen  necessitates  frequent  padding  with 
adjectives.  The  conceitfulness  and  grotesqueness  of  style, 
however,  is  if  anything  less  than  in  the  original.  Even 
James  would  have  hesitated  to  suggest,  for  instance,  that 
the  word  of  God  was  "syringue"  into  chaos.  A  compari- 
son of  the  first  six  lines  with  the  same  passage  hi  Du 
Bartas  will  be  sufficient  to  illustrate  James's  method :  — 

"  Ceste  longue  largeur,  ceste  hauteur  profonde, 
Cest  infini  fini,  ce  grande  monde  sans  monde, 
Ce  lourd  (di-je)  Chaos,  qui  dans  soi  mutine, 
Se  vid  en  un  moment  dans  le  rien  d'un  rienne, 
Estoit  le  corps  fecond  d'ou  la  celeste  essence 
Et  les  quatre  Elemens  devoyent  prendre  naissance." 

3.  lourde.    Heavy. 

ii.  Now.  Whether,  the  original  reading,  is  a  better  trans- 
lation of  Du  Bartas's  soit  que,  which  begins  both  this  line 
and  the  second  following. 

16.  Acheloian  sucke.    Water.    Achelous  was  the  name 


112 

of  the  largest  river  in  Greece  and  of  the  river-god  who  fought 
with  Hercules. 

18.  Chilus.  Chyle.  The  juice  formed  in  the  stomach  by 
the  digestion  of  food.  "II  se  prend  pour  le  seu  que  le  ven- 
tricule  tire  des  viandes  par  le  moyen  de  la  digestion,  et  qui 
est  la  matiere  du  sang."  —  Note  by  S.G.S.  (Sieur  Guillaume 
Sallust  ?)  in  Du  Bartas. 

23.  Like  warre  dothe  holde  our  bod''  in  peace.  Here  follows 
an  explanation  of  the  complexions,  melancholy,  sanguine, 
phlegmatic,  and  choleric,  resultant  from  the  divers  combina- 
tions of  the  elements  in  the  human  body.  Rait  quotes  in 
illustration  the  Counterblaste  to  Tobacco  (1616  Folio,  p.  216) : 
"For  man  beeing  compounded  of  the  foure  Complexions, 
although  there  be  a  mixture  of  them  all  in  all  the  parts  of  his 
body,  yet  must  the  divers  parts  of  our  Microcosme,  or  little 
world  within  ourselves,  be  diversly  more  inclined,  some  to 
one,  some  to  another  complexion,  according  to  the  diversitie 
of  their  uses,  that  of  these  discords  a  perfect  harmonie  may 
be  made  up  for  the  maintenance  of  the  whole  body." 

41.  Citties  Democratick  free.  In  1603  James  told  Scara- 
velli,  the  Secretary  of  the  Venetian  Embassy,  of  "the  days 
.  .  .  when  my  tutor,  Buchanan,  gave  me  instruction  in 
the  excellence  of  that  government  [the  Venetian  Republic]. " 
—  S.  P.  Ven.,  Vol.  X,  No.  78.  Here,  however,  the  passage 
is  a  direct  translation. 

50.  Cf .  Du  Bartas,  1.  90 :  — 

"Se  fait  moust,  le  moust  vin,  et  le  bon  vin  vinaigre." 

55.  Bot  if  that  cruell  Tyranne  like.    The  question  of  the 
right  of  the  people  to  rebel  against  an  oppressive  monarch 
was  a  moot    point  in^the    political    discussions    of    the 
sixteenth  century.    Buchanan,  in  De  Jure  Regni  apud  Scotos, 
sought  to  justify  tyrannicide. 

56.  Saickles.     Innocent. 

61.  Affeirand.  Properly  appertaining  to  each  other. 
Du  Bartas :  — 

''Une  proportion  conjoint,  bien  qu'inegales." 


113 

67.  Boore  bot  one  craig,  etc.  The  wish  ascribed  by  Sueto- 
nius to  Caligula:  "Utinam  populus  Romanus  unam  cer-, 
vicem  haberet."  (De  Vita  Casarum,  IV,  c.  30.) 

69.  The  translation  ends  suddenly,  but  with  discretion. 
The  next  lines  in  Du  Bartas  are  as  follows :  — 

"De  tous  ses  compagnons  il  cerche  la  mine : 
Peu  a  peu  la  maison,  ou  tyran  il  domine, 
Ruyneuse  se  perd :  et  dedans  et  dehors, 
Aux  yeux  plus  cler-voyans  semble  changer  de  corps." 

LVII 

The  translation  is  from  La  Seconde  Sepmaine,  Premier 
Jour,  11.  1-48,  and  is  as  close  as  the  one  preceding. 

4.  Crooked.    The  verb.     Du  Bartas,  serpentoit. 

6.  From  Edens  both.  Du  Bartas,  les  deux  Edens.  The 
terrestrial  and  celestial  paradises,  both  closed  by  Adam's  fall. 

n.  Leste.  To  extend  or  last.  Du  Bartas,  allongeant  mon 
propos. 

13.  Marche.    Limit,  boundary. 

15.  Droucked.  Du  Bartas,  toute  moite.  Drenched  or  wet. 
Cf .  Douglas,  jEneis,  Bk.  X,  vi,  11.  44-45  :  — 

" .     .     .     All  droukit  and  forwrocht, 
They  salffit  war,  and  warpit  to  the  cost." 

17.  O  sacred  floure  du  Us.  A  reference  to  Henry,  King  of 
Navarre  (1553-1610),  son  of  Antoine  de  Bourbon  and  Jeanne 
d'Albret.  He  became  Henry  IV  of  France  in  1589. 

20.  Andhelpe  the  faults  rise.    Faults  (Sc.  Jaultis}  is  dis- 
syllabic. 

21.  Pampelone.     Sp.    Pamplona.     The    ancient    capital 
city  of  Navarre,  seized  with  the  greater  portion  of  the  king- 
dom by  Ferdinand  of  Castile  in  1512. 

27.  Fighting  at  thy  side.  Du  Bartas  was  a  soldier  as 
well  as  diplomatist  and  poet ;  he  died  of  wounds  received 
while  fighting  under  Henry  in  the  battle  of  Ivry  (May 
14,  1590). 


114 

36.  Bricole.  Du  Bartas,  wnt  bricollant.  To  bound  or 
rebound ;  a  technical  term  used  especially  in  tennis. 

39.  With  variant  ameling  paimented.  Paved  or  covered 
with  varied  decoration.  Cf.  XIII,  8;  XVII,  177. 

43.  Adjourned.  Du  Bartas,  semond.  Here  in  the  un- 
usual sense  of  summoned. 


APPENDIX  I 

III 

The  phrase  "sonnets  and  suites  to  the  Gods,"  in  the 
opening  sentence,  has  reference  to  twelve  sonnets  at  the 
beginning  of  The  Essayes  of  a  Prentise,  three  of  which,  with 
a  four-line  introduction,  are  reprinted  in  the  present  volume 
(XLI-XLIV) .  The  Scheme  itself  is  apparently  an  ingenious 
outline  for  a  poem  which  should  illustrate  the  "kyndis  of 
verses"  denned  in  Chapter  VIII  of  the  Reulis  and  cautelis. 
The  portion  preceding  the  delivery  of  the  bill  to  the  Gods 
was  to  be  in  rithme  [rhyme],  by  which  James  probably  meant 
couplets  — either  decasyllabics  or  'fourteeners.'  The  Muses 
then  request  an  answer  in  ballet  royall,  described  by  James 
in  the  Reulis  as  a  stanza  of  eight  lines  rhyming  ababbcbc. 
Envy  opposes  in  tragicall  verse,  presumably  Troilus  verse  or 
rhyme  royal,  recommended  by  James  for  tragical  matters 
and  complaints.  Jupiter  strikes  a  midds  or  mean  between 
the  contending  parties  in  heroicall  verse,  a  stanza  rhyming 
aab,  aab,  bob  ;  and  the  piece  closes  with  a  sonnet. 


115 


APPENDIX  II 


In  Calderwood  the  Antithesis  follows  and  forms  a  part 
of  the  Song,  the  first  verses  that  ever  the  King  made  (LIII).  See 
note  on  the  latter  poem. 

II 

The  Spanish  fleet  was  defeated  in  July,  1588,  and  a  por- 
tion driven  northward  around  Scotland.  During  the  flight 
one  of  the  vessels  was  stranded  on  the  coast  of  Anstruther, 
and  the  crew  entertained  by  the  natives  with  kail,  porridge, 
and  fish  (Melville's  Diary,  p.  174).  Medina  de  Sidonia, 
who  was  in  the  party,  visited  Edinburgh  and  probably  saw 
the  King.  Hence  line  n  of  the  sonnet :  — 

"The  number  that  escap'd,  it  fell  them  faire." 

Ill 

Cf.  A  Sonnet  to  Chanceller  Maitlane  (XXXIII),  and  note. 

IV 

The  omission  of  the  sonnet  in  the  second  and  later  editions 
of  the  treatise  may  be  attributed  not  only  to  its  inferiority  to 
the  sonnet  following,  but  to  its  departure  in  the  first  quatrain 
from  the  King's  usual  rhyme-scheme. 

V 

This  piece  has  been  highly  praised.  J.  H.  Millar  calls  it 
"by  far  his  best  performance  .  .  .  which  just  misses  being 
really  fine."  (A  Literary  History  of  Scotland,  N.Y.,  1903, 
p.  214.) 

10.  Represse  the  proud,  etc.  Cf.  the  King's  motto: 
"Parcere  subiectis  et  debellare  superbos." 


116 


VI-VII 

The  date  of  these  verses  is  indicated  by  a  letter  from  John 
Chamberlain  to  Sir  Dudley  Carleton,  August  18,  1621 
(Nichols,  Progresses  of  James  I,  Vol.  IV,  p.  710) :  "The 
King  was  so  pleased  and  taken  with  his  entertainment  at 
the  Lord  Marquess's,  that  he  could  not  forbear  to  express 
his  contentment  in  certain  verses  he  made  to  this  effect, 
that  '  the  air,  the  weather  (though  it  was  not  so  here) ,  and 
every  thing  else,  even  the  stags  and  bucks  in  their  fall  did 
seem  to  smile;  so  that  there  was  hopes  of  a  smiling  boy 
within  a  while,'  to  which  end  he  concluded  with  a  wish,  or 
votum,  for  the  felicity  and  fruitfulness  of  that  virtuous  and 
blessed  couple,  and  in  a  way  of  Amen,  caused  the  Bishop  of 
London  in  his  presence  to  give  them  a  blessing."  The 
latter  ceremony  is  presumably  indicated  by  the  asterisks, 
VII,  7.  The  marriage  of  Buckingham  and  Lady  Katherine 
Manners  took  place  May  16,  1620,  and  their  first  child,  a 
daughter,  was  born  in  April,  1622  (Ibid.,  p.  756).  During 
his  visit,  which  extended  from  July  29  to  August  4,  the 
King  was  entertained  with  Ben  Jonson's  Masque  of  the 
Metamorphosed  Gypsies,  which  so  pleased  him  that  it  was 
performed  twice  again,  at  Belvoir  and  Windsor,  in  the  same 
month.  This  was  the  occasion  also  of  Sir  John  Beaumont's 
sonnets,  Of  his  Maiestie's  Vow  for  the  Felicity  of  my  Lord 
Marquesse  of  Buckingham  and  My  Lord  of  Buckingham's 
Welcome  to  the  King  at  Burley  (Poems,  ed.  Grosart,  pp. 
156-157)- 


INDEX 


Adamson,  Patrick,  Abp.  of  St.  Andrews, 
sonnet  on  his  Paraphrase  of  Job,  25 ; 
xxx,  lii,  84,  85. 

Alexander,  William,  E.  of  Stirling,  his 
paraphrases  of  the  Psalms,  xii,  xiii, 
Ixxviii,  Ixxxvii-lxxxix ;  sonnet  refer- 
ring to,  37 ;  ix,  96. 

Allott,  Robert,  xxxix,  Ivi. 

Andrewes,  Launcelot,  Bp.  of  Chichester, 
Ix,  Ixx,  Ixxxvi. 

Anne,  Queen  of  England,  her  marriage 
and  voyage  to  Scotland,  xxxvii,  69-71 ; 
patronage  of  literature,  Ixxii-lxxvii ; 
poems  addressed  to,  i-io,  22-24, 
xli,  Iviii,  79,  82-84. 

Ariosto,  77. 

Armada,  Spanish,  sonnet  on  the  defeat 
of,  lii,  63,  115. 

Arran,  William  Stewart,  E.  of,  xxv,  xliv. 

Ascham,  Roger,  xxii. 

Aston,  Roger,  xxxvi. 

Atholl,  E.  of,  92,  99. 

Aytoun,  Sir  Robert,  xli,  li,  Ixiii,  Ixxiv. 


B 


Bacon,  Francis,  Baron  Verulam,  Ivii. 

Barclay,  Anne,  wife  of  William  Barclay, 
Ixiii. 

Barclay,  Hugh  of  Ladyland,  xxxii. 

Barclay,  John,  his  service  hi  the  English 
Court,  Ix,  Ixii-lxiv,  Ixvii. 

Barclay,  Louise,  wife  of  John  Barclay, 
Ixiii. 

Barclay,  William,  Ixii,  Ixiii. 

Barlow,  William,  Bp.  of  Lincoln,  be. 

Barnfield,  Richard,  lv,  Ivi. 

Bartas,  Guillaume  de  Sallust  du,  James's 
translations  from,  xxix,  xlix,  lii,  54-58, 
111-114;  his  visit  to  Scotland,  xxxiv— 
xxxvi;  poems  addressed  to,  27-28, 
86-88 ;  letter  to,  60 ;  xxiii,  xliii,  xlvi, 
77,  81. 

Bassano,  Italian  musician,  Ixxvii. 

Beaton,  Abp.  of  Glasgow,  xxxi. 


Beaumont,  Sir  John,  quoted,  Ixvii ;  and 

King  James,  Ixxxi-Ixxxvi,  116. 
Becanus,  Martin,  61. 
Bedford,  Countess  of,  Ivii. 
Bellarmine,  Cardinal  of  Perron,  Ix,  Ixi, 

Ixx. 
Bellay,  Joachim  du,  rviii,  xxii,  xxiii,  xlvi, 

1,87. 

Belleau,  Remy,  81. 
Belvedere,  or  The  Garden  of  the  Muses, 

xl,  xlii,  Ivi. 
Beza,  Theodore,  xxi. 

Bible,  King  James  version  of,  Ixi,  Ixxxviii. 
Blackwell,  George,  Ix. 
Bodenham,  editor  of  Belvedere,  xl,  xlii,  Ivi. 
Boece,  Hector,  72. 
Boniton,  Lord  of,  xxxviii. 
Boscan,  xc. 
Bothwell,     Francis    Stewart    Hepburn, 

Sixth  E.  of,  poems  referring  to,  33-34, 

92-94 ;  viii,  70,  79,  89. 
Brahe,  Tycho,  poems  on,  26-27,  85-86; 

7i- 

Briskett,  Ludovick,  xlvii. 
Browne,  William,  Ixx. 
Buchanan,     George,    tutor    to    James, 

xvii-xxiii,  xxx ;   xxix,  lix,  Ixxx,  112. 
Buckingham,     George     Villiers,     First 

Duke  of,  poems  referring  to,  65-66, 

116;  Ixxxiv,  Ixxxv. 
Buckingham,  Margaret  Villiers,  Couat- 

ess  of,  Ixxxv. 
Burlamachi,  Phillip,  Ixiii. 
Burleigh,  Lord,  xxxvi,  90. 
Burns,  Robert,  76,  78,  101. 
Burton,  Henry,  Ixxi. 
Buys,  Paul,  Ixx. 


Calvin,  John,  Ixi. 
Cardanus,  xxi,  xxii,  80,  81. 
Carey,  Sir  George,  75. 
Carey,  Sir  Robert,  xii. 
Carey,  Thomas,  xii,  xiii. 
Casaubon,  Isaac,  Ixii,  Ixiv. 
Cassiodorus,  xxi. 


117 


118 


Cecil,  Sir  Robert,  E.  of    Salisbury,  xliii 

kii,  75. 

Chaloner,  Sir  Thomas,  Ixviii,  Ixxi. 
Chapman,  George,  Ixxii. 
Charles  I  of    England,   xii,   xiii,   kvii, 

Ixxii,    Ixxxvi-lxxxviii,    passim. 
Cheeke,  Sir  John,  xxiii. 
Cheeke,  William,  Ixxi. 
Chester,  Robert,  74. 
Chettle,  Henry,  Ivi. 
Christian  IV  of  Denmark,  kii. 
Churchyard,  Thomas,  xlii. 
Cicero,  xxi. 

Clement  VII,  Pope,  61. 
Cockburne,  Sir  Richard,  88. 
Collins,  Samuel,  Ix. 
Colville,  Alexander,  88. 
Colville,  John,  xxxviii,  xliii,  xliv,  75,  79, 

92. 
Constable,    Henry,    and    Montgomerie, 

viii,  xxviii,  xxxi ;  his  visits  to  Scotland, 

ix,  xxxvi-xxxix,  xliii ;  poems  addressed 

to  James,  71. 

Cornwallis,  Sir  William,  bod. 
Coryat,  Thomas,  Ixix,  Ixxii. 
Cotton,  Mr.,  Ixx. 
Craig,  Dr.  John,  xii,  xiii. 
Craige,  Alexander,  lii,  97,  98. 
Cumberland,  Countess  of,  Ivii. 


D 


Damman,  Hadrian,  xxxix. 

Daneau,  his  Geographica  Poetica,  xxiii. 

Daniel,  John,  Ixxv. 

Daniel,  Samuel,  in  the  court  of  Queen 

Anne,   Ixxiv;    his   Italian   parentage, 

Ixxv-lxxvii;   li,  Ivi,  Ixx. 
Dante,  xxiii. 

D'Aubigny,  see  Lennox,  Earls  of. 
Dimmock,  Sir  Edward,  Ixxvi. 
Dominis,     Marcantonio     de,     Bp.      of 

Spalato,  Ixxiii. 
Donne,  Dr.  John,  and  King  James,  ix, 

Ivii,  Ix,  Ixii,  kiv-kvii;  Ixxi,  77. 
Douglas,  Archibald,  xxviii,  xxxi. 
Douglas,  Gawain,  102,  113. 
Douglas,  Robert,  xxxvii. 
Drama,  court  patronage  of,  Ivii-lix. 
Drayton,  Michael,  ix,  Ivi,  Ixix,  Ixxi. 
Drummond,  Sir  John,  xii. 
Drummond,   William  of  Hawthornden, 

and  Fowler,  xii,  xlii ;  his  Conversations 

with   Jonson,  Ixxix— Ixxxi;    and    King 

James,  lxxxvii-xc;  xh'v,  xlviii,  96. 
Dunbar,  William,  76,  106. 
Durham,  Bp.  of,  Ixxxvi. 


E 


Elizabeth,  Princess,  Ixxii. 

Elizabeth,     Queen    of    England,    xxiv, 

xxxvii,  xlii,  Ivi,  Ivii,  69,  83,  89. 
Elyot,  Sir  Thomas,  xxii. 
Errol,  E.  of,  xxxviii. 

Erskine,  Adam,  Abbot  of  Dryburgh,  xvii. 
Erskine,  David,  Abbot  of  Cambusken- 

neth,  xvii. 

Erskine,  Sir  Thomas,  xiii,  xiv. 
Essex,  Robert  Devereux,  Second  E.  of, 

xxx vi,  Ivii. 
Euclid,  xxi. 


Fairfax,  Edward,  Ixxxvi. 

Fairlie,  Dr.  James,  99. 

Fergus  I  of  Scotland,  3,  72. 

Ferrebosco,  Italian  musician,  kxvii. 

Fletcher,  Giles,  Ivi. 

Fletcher,  Phineas,  Ivi. 

Florio,  John,  Ixxiii-lxxv  passim. 

Fowler,  Thomas,  xxxi,  xxxvi,  xii,  106. 

Fowler,  Sir  William,  life  and  relations 
with  James,  xxxix-xliii ;  sonnet  on,  29, 
88;  li,  Iviii,  kiv,  kxiv,  109. 

Frederick  II  of  Denmark,  69. 

Freigius,  xxi. 

G 

Garcilasso,  xc. 

Gascoigne,  George,  xlvi,  xlk,  li,  81. 

Gerard,  George,  Ixxi. 

Gibson,  John,  bookbinder  to  King  James, 

xxii. 
Glamis,    Anne    Murray,    Lady,    poems 

referring  to,  vii,  viii,  10-19,  78-80. 
Glamis,  Patrick  Lyon,  Lord,  78. 
Glamis,  Sir  Thomas  Lyon,  Master  of,  78, 

79,  93,  106. 

Goodyer,  Sir  Henry,  kv,  kxi. 
Googe,  Barnaby,  xlk. 
Gordon,  see  Huntly,  E.  of. 
Grahame,  the  wizard,  93. 
Grahame,  Simon,  li. 
Gray,  Master  of,  xliv,  89,  106. 
Greene,  T.,  the  actor,  Ivi. 
Grotius,  quoted,  xvii. 
Gualter,  Rodolph,  xix. 
Guarini,  Giovanni  Battista,  kxvi. 


Hackett,  Robert,  xxvi, 

Haddon,  Dr.,  Master  of  Requests,  Ivii, 


119 


Halkerton,   Col.  Ja.,   89. 

Hall,  Joseph,   Bp.  of  Exeter,   Ixx-lxxii 

passim. 

Hamilton,  John,  sg. 
Harington,  Sir  John,  xxiv,  xliv. 
Harvey,  Gabriel,  li,  Iv. 
Heminge,  John,  Ixxiii. 
Hemingsen,  the  theologian,  xxi,  xxii,  71. 
Henry  of  Navarre,  69,  113. 
Henry,  Prince  of  Wales,  as  a  patron  of 

literature,     Ixvii— Ixxii;      sonnets    to, 

64-65 ;    xli,  lii,  Ivii,  Ixii. 
Herbert,  Sir  Edward,  Ixxi. 
Homer,  xc,  80. 
Hooker,  Richard,  hd. 
Horace,  xlvi. 
Hotman,  Francois,  lix. 
Hudson,  James,  xxxix. 
Hudson,  Robert,  xxxix,  li,  41,  43,  88, 

100. 
Hudson,   Thomas,  xxxv,  xxxix,  li,  86-88 

passim. 

Hudson,  William,  xxxix. 
Hume,  Alexander,  lii. 
Hume,  George,  72. 
Hume,  Sir  Patrick,  of  Polwarth,  xxx,  41, 

101. 
Huntly,  George  Gordon,  E.  of,  poem  for 

the  marriage  of,  Iviii,  47-52,  106. 


Isocrates,  xxi. 


James  I  of  Scotland,  Iv. 

James  V  of  Scotland,  92,  no. 

James  VI  of  Scotland  and  I  of  England, 
his  tutors,  xvii— xx ;  studies  and  read- 
ing, xx-xxiii;  character,  xxiii-xxiv; 
arrival  in  Edinburgh,  xxv;  early 
poems,  xxix  et  seq. ;  and  Montgomerie, 
xxv-xxxiii;  and  Du  Bartas,  xxxiv- 
xxxvi;  and  Constable,  xxxvi— xxxviii ; 
and  minor  Scottish  poets,  xxxviii-xliv  ; 
Reulis  and  cautelis,  xlvi-xlviii ;  poems, 
xlviii— liv;  patronage  of  the  drama, 
Ivii-lix ;  prose,  xxxiv,  lix— Ixi ;  and 
Barclay,  Ixii— Ixiv;  and  Donne,  Ixiv— 
Ixvi;  poets  in  his  English  court, 
Ixxvii-xci ;  journey  to  Denmark,  and 
marriage,  52-53,  69-71,  82-84;  el 
passim. 

Jodelle,  Etifone,  1. 

Johnston,  Arthur,  Ixxxix. 

Jones, 'Inigo,  Iviii. 


Jonson,  Benjamin,  quoted,  xlv,  108 ;  and 
King  James,  Ixxix-lxxxi ;  ix,  Ivii, 
Iviii,  xc,  1 1 6. 

Jovius,  Paulus,  Ixxvi. 

Justin,  xxi. 


Keir,  Henry,  xxvii,  xxviii,  xxxi. 
Keith,  George,  see  Marshal,  Earl. 
Keith,  William,  72. 
Ker,  Sir  Robert,  ix,  Ixv,  Ixxxvii. 
Kirkham,  Edward,  Ixxiv. 


Languet,  Hubert,  lix. 

Lennox,   Esm6  Stuart  d'Aubigny,  First 

Duke  of,   viii,  xxv— xxix  passim,   xli, 

xliv,  1,  Iviii. 
Lennox,     Ludovic     Stuart     d'Aubigny, 

Second    Duke    of,    xxvii,   xxix,    Ixii, 

Ixxix,  70,  79,  85,  92. 
Lesley,  Sir  Patrick,  xli. 
Leviston,  Sir  James,  xii,  xiii. 
Lindesay,  Christian,  44,  104. 
Lindesay,  Sir  John  of  Dunrod,  104. 
Livy,  xxi. 

Locke,  Henry,  xxxix,  xlii,  xliii,  75. 
Lucan,  translation  from,  44-45 ;  97,  99, 

105. 

Lupo,  Italian  musician,  Ixxvii. 
Lydyat,  Sir  Thomas,  Ixxii. 
Lyndsay,  Sir  Walter,  59. 
Lyon,  see  Glamis. 


M 


Maitland,  Sir  John  of  Thirlestane,  son- 
nets to,  31,  63;  letter  to,  60;  xliv, 
69,  70,  72,  83,  86,  88-90,  93,  102. 

Maitland,  Sir  Richard,  xl,  xliv,  li,  90. 

Manners,  Lady  Katherine,  wife  of  Buck- 
ingham, 116. 

Mar,  E.  of,  xvii,  xviii. 

Mar,  Lady,  xviii,  xx. 

Marcellus  I,  Pope,  40,  100. 

Marino,  Giambattista,  Ixxvi. 

Marino,  Julio,  Ixxvi. 

Marlowe,  Christopher,  108. 

Marot,  Clement,  xxii. 

Marshal,  George  Keith,  Earl,  70,  72. 

Marta,  Dr.  Jacopo  Antonio,  letter  to,  61. 

Mary  Queen  of  Scotland,  xviii,  xx,  xxii, 
xxviii,  xxxi,  liii,  Ixxix. 

Melville,  Rev.  Andrew,  xxxvi,  no. 

Melville,  Rev.  James,  xx,  li. 


120 


Meres,  Francis,  Ivi. 

Montgomerie,  Alexander,  life  and  re- 
lations with  James,  xxvi-xxxiii;  and 
Constable,  xxxvii ;  poems  referring  to, 
31,  37,  40-44,  95,  90-104  passim; 
quoted,  71,  72,  74,  85,  90,  91,  94,  no; 
vii,  viii,  xxiii,  xxxix,  xliii,  xlv— li  passim, 
76. 

Montgomerie,  Hugh  of  Hessilheid, 
xxvi. 

Montgomerie,  Lady  Margaret,  xxxi. 

Montgomerie,  Captain  Robert,  xxvi. 

Montgomerie,  Robert,  Abp.  of  Glasgow, 
xxvii,  85. 

Morton,  Lady,  79. 

Morton,  Robert  Douglas,  E.  of,  xvii, 
xviii,  xxv,  xxvii. 

Morton,  Thomas,  brv. 

Moulin,  Pierre  du,  letter  to,  61. 

Mow,  William,  44,  104. 

Mure,  of  Rowallan,  li. 

Murray,  Anne,  see  Glamis,  Lady. 

Murray,  Sir  David  of  Gorty,  ix,  li,  Ixviii, 
Ixix,  Ixxxvi,  98,  99. 

Murray,  James,  of  Powmaes,  xxix. 

Murray,  Sir  John,  First  E.  of  Tulli- 
bardine,  78. 

Murray,  Sir  John,  Keeper  of  the  Privy 
Purse  to  King  James,  xii,  Ixix. 

Murray,  John,  Gentleman  of  the  Bed- 
chamber to  King  James,  ix,  Ixxxvi, 
Ixxxvii. 

Murray,  Sir  Patrick,  Ixxxvii. 

Murray,  Sir  Thomas,  Ixxxvii. 

Murray,  William,  Second  E.  of  Tulli- 
bardine,  98,  99. 

Murray,  Sir  William,  Groom  of  the 
Chamber  to  King  Charles,  xii. 

Murray,  William,  Valet  of  the  Chamber 
to  King  James,  xxxix 

N 

Nardi,  Baltassar,  Ixxiii. 
Newton,  Sir  Adam,  Ixviii. 
Nottingham,  E.  of,  83. 


Orontius,  xxi. 
Osborne,  Thomas,  xxiv. 
Ovid,  xc. 
Owen,  John,  Ixix,  Ixxii. 


Parnassus,   England's,   xxxix,   Ivi;     The 
Return  from,  xl. 


Pavie,  Sir  Thomas,  Ixx. 
Pembroke,  Countess  of,  Ivii. 
Petrarch,  xxiii,  1,  xc,  29,  88. 
Philip  III  of  Spain,  letter  from,  61. 
Plessis,  M.  du,  letter  to,  61. 
Pliny,  xxii,  80,  81,  82. 
Plutarch,  xxi,  xxii,  91. 
Polwarth,  see  Hume,  Sir  Patrick. 
Porter,  Endymion,  xii. 


Quin,  Walter,  xxxviii,  li,  109. 
R 

Riche,  Lord  and  Lady,  xxxvi. 
Ronsard,  Pierre  de,  xxii,  xxiii,  xlvi,  xlvii, 

1,  Ixxix,  xc,  72,  74,  100. 
Roxburghe,  Lord,  Ixxv. 


St.  Augustine,  108,  109. 

Saint-Gelais,  Melin  de,  73,  91,  103. 

Sandys,  George,  Ixv,  xc. 

Sannazaro,  Jacopo,  73. 

Scott,  Alexander,  xxxi,  li,  85,  104. 

Scott,  Reginald,  lix. 

Seaton,  Alexander,  Lord,  89. 

Semple,  Robert,  xxxi,  85,  104. 

Seneca,  92. 

Seville,  Sir  Henry,  Ixiii. 

Shakspere,  William,  Ivii,  Iviii,  91. 

Sharpe,  Lionel,  Ixiii. 

Shaw,  John,  poems  on,  30;   89,  90. 

Shaw,  William,  89,  90. 

Sidney,  Sir  Philip,  relations  with  King 

James,  Ixxix,  Ixxx,  88,  89 ;  epitaph  on, 

29;   xliv,  Iv,  Ivii,  92,  98. 
Sidney,  Sir  Robert,  xliii. 
Sidonia,  Medina  de,  115. 
Sonnet,     rhyme-scheme     employed    by 

James,  xlvii,  1-lii. 
Southampton,  E.  of,  Ixxxiv. 
Spenser,  Edmund,  xlvii,  1,  li,  Ixxix,  75, 

82. 

Stevin,  Rob,  34,  102-104. 
Stewart,  J.(  of  Baldyness,  77,  103. 
Stewart,  Sir  John,  of  Dernely,  xxvi. 
Stuart,    Lady     Arabella,    xxxi,     xxxvii, 

xlii. 
Stuart,    Lady    Henrietta,    daughter    of 

d'Aubigny,  poem  for  the  marriage  of, 

Iviii,  47-52,  106. 
Stuart,  Lady  Margaret,  83. 
Sylvester,  Joshua,  Ixviii-lxxii  passim. 


121 


Taylor,  the  Water  Poet,  Ixxix. 
Tenison,  Thomas,  Abp.  of  Canterbury, 

xi. 

Thouart,  C.  de,  87. 
Tooker,  William,  Dean  of  Lichfield,  be. 


Vaughan,  William,  Ivi,  Ivii. 
Villiers,  see  Buckingham. 
Virgil,  xc,  58,  80,  102. 
Volphius,  xxi. 
Vorstius,  D.  Conradus,  bd. 

W 
Waller,  Edmund,  bcxv,  Ixxxvi,  xc,  xci, 


Weirus,  German  physician,  lix. 

Welden,  Anthony,  xxiv. 

Wemys,  Lady  Cecilia,  poem  referring  to, 

39 ;  98,  99- 

Wemys,  Sir  John,  98. 
Wilson,  Thomas,  xxiv,  Ixxxv. 
Worth,  Ellis,  Ixxiii. 
Wotton,  Sir  Edward,  xliii,  69,  88. 
Wright,  Abraham,  xi. 
Wyatt,  Sir  Thomas,  73. 


Young,  Peter,  tutor  to  James,  xvii-xxiii ; 
xli,69. 


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